Madison Worthington-Hummel
by Castiel's Archangel Celeste
Summary: Madison Worthington-Hummel is Kurt's best friend and adopted She's a good singer and dancer,but she hasn't sung since her parents Kurt is determined to get her in the Glee She's a loud mouth and aggressive,but underneath she's a scared little girl and quite Join her and the Glee club as she opens up to them and gets a new outlook on And maybe find love?
1. Chapter 1

Madison Worthington-Hummel

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N-I've noticed that all the Glee OC stories are not exactly what I'm looking for, so I made my own.**

* * *

First things first, my name is Madison Worthington-Hummel.

Why the hyphenation you ask?

Well…my parents died in a plane crash when I was 7.

Burt, Kurt's father, adopted me and now I'm Kurt's sister.

We also share a room, which is okay since he's gay and everything.

Kurt's never said it out loud, but I've always known.

I know I have an older brother named Luke somewhere.

He was already out of the house when I was born.

It kinda hurts to know my brother doesn't care, but I've got Kurt.

* * *

"Maddie! Time to get up!" Kurt yelled in my ear.

My hand shot out and smacked him in the forehead.

"Get up or I'm going to play Madonna", he said.

I sat up and said, "Don't even think about it". I grabbed my clothes and went into the bathroom.

Halfway through my shower, Kurt entered the bathroom.

"Excuse me? What the hell are you doing in here?" I asked him.

"Getting ready. I've seen your body before", he said.

I rolled my eyes and finished my shower. I put my undergarments on in the shower and got out.

Kurt did nothing but continue his beauty regiment.

After getting dressed, I pushed him out of the way so I could brush my teeth. Kurt smiled and bumped my hip with his.

"What are you wearing?" Kurt asked.

"None of your business. We are not coordinating", I told him.

"I really wish you wouldn't dress like that", he said.

I was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and, a blue top with a white tank top, and a pair of converse, topped off with my favorite hoodie. "Says the boy who spent $100 for that jacket", I said.

"It's Marc Jacobs", he said, "I wouldn't expect _you _to understand".

I rolled my eyes and left the bathroom. I went upstairs and grabbed some cereal.

By the time Kurt came up, I had finished my breakfast.

He grabbed a protein shake. "Come on Mads", he said.

"Bye Burt", I said and followed Kurt to his car. "Damn. I wish your father would've given me one of these", I said.

"_Our _father", he said. Before he started the car, he turned to me. "You know, you _can _call him dad", Kurt said.

"I know, but…it feels weird", I told him.

* * *

We arrived at school and the football players were already waiting.

"It's been nice living with you", I quipped.

Kurt rolled his eyes and got out.

The football team walked up.

"Hey Puck", I said.

"Hey Madison. Looking good in them jeans", he said.

Kurt glared at me. He never quite approved of my flirtation with Noah Puckerman.

We all walked over to the Dumpster where the football team cornered Kurt.

"Making some new friends, Kurt?" Mr. Schuester asked walking by, "Hello Madison".

"He sure is, Mr. Schue", Puck said, throwing an arm over my shoulders.

"Hey, Finn, you still owe me that report on que hace el verano pasado", Mr. Schuester said.

"What?" Finn asked.

"What you did last summer", I explained.

"Exactly", Mr. Schuester said.

"Almost halfway done with almost all of it, Mr. Schue", Finn said.

Mr. Schuester left.

"It's hammer time!" Puck said walking over to Kurt. Him and another jock start to pick Kurt up.

"Please, this is from Marc Jacobs' new collection!" Kurt begged.

"Wait", Finn said.

The jocks released Kurt.

"Madison", he said.

I walked up and took his jacket and his bag.

"Okay", Finn said.

The jocks tossed him into the dumpster.

Before Puck left, he turned and said, "See you late Worthington".

"Same to you Puckerman", I said. I helped Kurt out of the dumpster and helped him put his jacket back on.

"Thank you", he said.

"Sorry about how I was at the house. This jacket really does make the outfit", she said.

"Thanks Mads", he said, "Now come".

We linked elbows and entered the school with our heads held high.

* * *

Kurt came running up to me a few days later in the hallway. "You have to try out for Glee club", he said.

"Glee? Really?" I scoffed.

"Glee is nothing to scoff about Madison", Kurt snapped.

"Excuse me then", I said.

"Come on Madison", he said.

"Kurt…you know I haven't sang since it happened", I told him.

"But you sing like Christina and Kelly", he said.

I smiled, but said, "No. Besides, it's like 'social suicide'".

Kurt put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I hope you change your mind".

I sighed. I closed my locker and went to the dance studio.

There was no class in right now, so I would have a few minutes to myself.

I clicked on iPod and danced around a minute or two. I quickly left the classroom. After the Glee auditions, I went to the auditorium and took my iHome with me. I put it down and set my iPod on "Tough Lover" from Burlesque. I opened my mouth and belted out the song. I suddenly heard clapping. I spun and found Mr Schuester. My cheeks turned red and I ran out crying.

* * *

"Crap!" I yelled, rifling through my bag.

"What's wrong Mads?" Kurt asked.

"I lost my iPod and iHome", I told him, "Burt gave me those for my birthday".

"We'll find it", Kurt told me.

The next day when Kurt went to Glee rehearsals, I tagged along and watched from the doorway.

Mr. Schuester handed Kurt something and said, "Madison left these in the auditorium the other day. She's got an amazing voice".

"You heard her? She doesn't sing", Kurt told him, "Ever since her parents died…"

The period went on slowly as they sang "Sit down, You're Rocking the Boat".

When the number was over, I clapped.

Everyone turned to look at me.

"What a brilliantly suckish performance", I quipped.

"And just who might you be?" Rachel Berry asked with her hands on her hips.

"Only your biggest fan", I said over-sarcastically with a smile.

"Madison, what are you doing here?" Kurt asked with an annoyed expression.

"Only checking on my big brother", I said, "Still can't believe you're wearing that jacket again".

"Sister?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"Yep. Madison Worthington-Hummel. At your service", I said bowing with a flourish.

"Guess talent runs in the family", Mr. Schuester said.

Kurt grabbed my waist before I could attack him.

"Let me go!" I roared, "I'll bash his face in! Teacher or not!" I shook Kurt off of me. "I'll see you at home", I growled and grabbed my iPod and iHome. I stormed out of the room.

* * *

"So you'll never guess who's in Glee club now", Kurt said while we shared a pizza and watched Devil Wears Prada. "Finn Hudson", he said.

I literally choked on the piece of pizza in my mouth. Then I burst into a fit of giggles. "The Quarterback?" I asked, "Like as in Puck's best friend?"

Kurt nodded.

"Mr. Schue must be desperate", I said.

"He wants to take us to Carmel High to see their show choir and I wanted you to come with me", Kurt said.

"Why?" I asked him, "I've been nothing but horrible to those Glee kids".

"Actually, just Rachel", Kurt said, "Please? You're not just my best friend, you're my sister".

"Fine", I said sighing.

* * *

We arrived at Carmel.

"Remind again why I agreed to come with you?" I asked Kurt.

"Because you love me", he said smiling.

We got out of his SUV and went inside.

I kept my eyes from Mr. Schuester.

We found our seats and sat down.

I was stuck between Kurt and Tina.

"Hey, guys, so this is supposed to be our competition, but, uh, I honestly don't think that they've got the talent that we've got. But let's be a good audience, all right? Give 'em some of that old McKinley High respect", Mr. Schuester said.

"Can't we boo them off the stage?" I asked softly, earning some chuckles.

By the time Vocal Adrenaline was done, everyone's mouth was open.

"We're d-d-doomed", Tina stuttered.

"Yeah. You guys are screwed…and not in the good way", I said.

As we were leaving, I heard, "Chicks don't have prostates. I looked it up. You broke the rules, Finn, and for that, you must be punished".

I ran around back and found Finn surrounded by a group of the football players. I stood in front of Finn.

Puck sighed and said, "Get out of the way Madison".

"Make me", I growled.

One of them grabbed me and threw me to the ground.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. You've got the power here, okay? You-you don't have to do this", Finn said.

The football players opened fire on Finn covered him in green paintballs.

They walked off.

Finn walked over and helped me up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I shoved him off of me and said, "I'm fine". I walked up to the group.

"Madison? What happened?" Kurt said.

"Nothing", I said, "I just want to go home".

Kurt threw his arm around me and we went back to the car.

* * *

"We're going to get Mr. Schuester back", Kurt said.

"And you want me to help?" I asked him, "I already told you, I don't sing".

"Please Madison. Do this one thing for me", he said.

"Kurt…I love you, but I really can't", I told him.

"Will come to our rehearsal?" he asked.

"Maybe", I said.

* * *

The day of the rehearsal, Madison entered the auditorium and listened to Finn and Rachel sing.

She wanted be a part of Glee, but she couldn't hold back tears when she sang.

When a break came in singing, she slid onto stage next to Kurt.

Unable to control himself, Kurt took Madison's hand in his own.

When the song was over, they heard clapping.

They looked up and saw Mr. Schuester.

Unable to help herself, Madison ran for it.

She ran backstage and hid her face in a corner.

A hand came down on her shoulder.

She turned, ready to deck the person, but found it was only Kurt.

He said nothing and pulled her into his arms.

Madison cried into his red shirt, probably ruining it, but Kurt didn't care. He stroked her hair until she calmed down. "Wipe your face", he said pulling out a tissue.

Mr. Schuester came backstage and walked up to us. "I'm sorry about your parents", he said, "But you've got to stop running every time someone hears you sing. I think you may want to talk to Miss Pillsbury about this. Now, let's try it from the top".

* * *

**If you're wondering why Mr. Schuester didn't know that Madison was Kurt's sister is because she drops Hummel when she's at school. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N-One follow right now.**

* * *

Since I had joined the Glee club, I noticed I sang all the time now. "I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away", I sang softly as I got ready and fixed my lunch.

"Wow. It's been years since I've heard you sing Maddie", Burt said.

"I know", I said. I kissed his cheek and ran to Kurt's car.

"Someone's in a good mood this morning", Kurt said.

We pulled into the parking lot, the jocks were waiting.

"Come on", I told Kurt, "Might as well get it over with".

Puck walked over and slung his arm over Kurt's shoulders and led him to the dumpster.

Mr. Schuester walked by. "Morning, Kurt. Madison", he said.

"Buenos nachos, Mr. Schue", Puck said.

"Hey! Let's go Titans", Mr. Schuester said chuckling as he walked by.

"Yeah. Come on", puck said getting ready to pick Kurt up.

"Wait", Kurt said. He handed me his bag and said, "One day, you will all work for me".

Puck and another jock picked Kurt up and tossed him into the dumpster.

* * *

That day in Glee rehearsal, we had to sing "Freak out".

Needless to say, I wasn't enjoying myself.

"Energy, guys! It's disco. Good with the hands. John Travolta hands. All right. We're freaking out. Let's go. And up and out and down. Good. Good. Good. Good, guys", Mr. Schuester said as we sang and danced.

Rachel, while dancing, kicked her leg out and nearly hit Mercedes in the face.

"Whoa, whoa! Hell to the nah! First of all, you try to bust my face again, and I will cut you!" she snapped.

A girl after my own heart.

"And, also, this song is terrible", Mercedes told Mr. Schuester.

"No, no, no. It's not the song. You guys just need to get into it", Mr. Schuester said.

"No, it's the song. It's really gay", Kurt said, causing me to smirk.

"We need modern music, Mr. Schue", Artie said.

"I'm sorry, guys. We don't have time to discuss this. We're doing this song this Friday at the pep assembly", Mr. Schuester said.

"In front of the whole school?" Tina asked.

"Exactly", Mr. Schuester said, clearly not understanding.

"They're gonna throw food at us. And I just had a facial", Kurt said.

I swear, I've never wanted to strangle someone more. Not Kurt, Mr. Schuester.

"I'll press charges if that happens", Rachel said, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Guys. I can't express to you how important this assembly is", Mr. Schuester said, "We need recruits. There are seven of you. We need twelve to qualify for regionals. We have no choice or the club is over. I know you guys don't like this song, but we took nationals back in '93 with "Freak Out." It's a crowd-pleaser. Trust me. From the top".

"I'm dead", Finn said.

We all took our places again.

"When we get home, I'm going to break something", I told Kurt.

"Just don't let it be my face", Kurt said.

* * *

The next day, Kurt was trying to convert Mercedes.

"You need to call me before you dress yourself", Kurt told her.

"Whatever. Whatever", Mercedes said.

"Don't listen to him", I told her.

"You look like a Technicolor zebra", Kurt said, "And stay out of this Madison".

"You're a hater. That's what you are", Mercedes said.

"I look like I'm a partier", Kurt said.

"No you don't, dork", I said.

"You're trying to copy me", Mercedes said.

"It looks like I planned it", Kurt told her.

"You know what, if your hair was longer, you'd have curls", Mercedes said.

Mr. Schuester entered the room and said, "All right, guys. How about a little Kanye?"

"Ew", I said taking the sheet music from him.

"For the assembly?" Mercedes asked excited.

"No. We won't be ready in time. We're still doing disco. But we can fold this into our repertoire and it'll be awesome at regionals. Communication is the foundation of any successful music group. If we're gonna succeed, we need to communicate. You guys said you wanted modern music, I listened", Mr. Schuester said.

"Mr. Schue, we'd really like to not do disco at the assembly", Artie said.

"Finn, you're gonna take the solo", Mr. Schuester said.

"What? No, I- I can't do the solo, Mr. Schue. I'm still learning how to walk and sing at the same time", Finn said.

I covered my mouth to hold in my laughter.

"No problem. I'll walk you through it", Mr. Schuester said.

"Ooh!" we all said.

"Impressive", I said.

"Challenge", Mercedes said.

"Hey, Mercedes. You know this?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"Oh, I got this", she said. She sang the opening lines.

The way Kurt looked her…bothered me.

"Like you haven't heard me sing like that", I said.

Kurt looked at me, but before he could say anything, Mr. Schuester started rapping.

We all joined in and for once, I enjoyed myself.

At one point in the song, Mr. Schuester looked at me and nodded.

I opened my mouth and belted the verse.

When the song was over, Mr. Schuester said, "All right, just like that. Ready?"

We all nodded.

My body felt like it was on fire and I was dizzy.

Kurt caught me before I could fall over.

"I'm fine", I told him, "Really".

"I think we should take five, guys", Mr. Schuester said.

Kurt sat me down and I hid my face in my hands.

Mr. Schuester walked over to us.

"I'm fine", I said.

"At least you didn't run", he said.

* * *

A few days later, Rachel summoned us to the gym for a meeting.

"I officially call this meeting of Glee Club in session", Rachel said banging her gavel on a sound board.

"But Mr. Schuester isn't here", Artie said.

"Mr. Schuester isn't coming. I paid a freshman to ask him for help with irregular verbs", Rachel said.

"Ugh! I'm so sick of hearing you squawk, Eva Perón", Mercedes snapped.

"Let her talk", Finn said nodding to Rachel.

I made a whipping noise.

"I have another idea for the assembly", Rachel said.

"Can I, once again, stress my most strenuous objections to this attempted suicide?" Artie said.

"I'm with Artie on this one", I told Rachel.

"They're not gonna kill us. Because we're gonna give them what they want", Rachel said.

"Blood?" Kurt asked.

"We're not gladiators, Kurt", I told him.

"Better. Sex", Rachel said.

"And I'm out!" I said grabbing my stuff, "Be back to pick you up later Kurt!"

Kurt chased me into the parking lot. "You're a part of this", Kurt said.

"And I'm not going to do this!" I yelled, "I'm not comfortable. You're my brother. Besides, you need pairs. I'll just throw everything off". I opened the door to the SUV and closed it, not listening to Kurt's pleas.

* * *

The day of the assembly, I sat down next to Miss Pillsbury.

Mr. Schuester made the announcement and sat down next to us. "Madison, why aren't you up there?" he asked.

"It's not gonna be pretty, trust me", I told him.

Needless to say, everyone was shocked.

I enjoyed the performance, but only because Kurt looked like he was enjoying himself.

* * *

In the end, the Glee club, mostly Rachel, got in trouble.

"You know you could've taken one for the team", Kurt said that night.

"I told you. I wasn't comfortable doing that", I said, "I can barely sing in front of people without crying".

"I'm just disappointed in you. You're my sister. You're supposed to be there for me", he said.

"Kurt, you know I support you in everything you do", I told him.

"Sometimes it doesn't seem like you do", he said going to our room.


	3. Chapter 3

Madison Worthington-Hummel

Chapter 3

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N-Romantic conflict anyone? Too soon? The first part of this chapter is in Kurt's POV. It's also for Olivia Marie 20, who suggested it.**

* * *

I was awoken in the early morning to the sound of screaming. I shot up and looked over at Madison.

The screams were coming from her.

I shot out of bed and ran over to her. "Madison!" I yelled shaking her, "Madison, wake up!"

She woke up with tears streaming down her face.

Our father came running down the stairs. "What happened?" he asked, "Is Maddie alright?"

"It was a nightmare dad", I told him, "I got it from here".

He nodded and went back upstairs.

I climbed in bed with Madison. "What was it?" I asked her.

"Plane crash", she said bursting into more tears.

I pulled her close to me.

She buried her face in my chest.

I fell asleep holding her.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up unable to move.

Kurt had his arms around me.

I suddenly remembered what happened last night. I got up and got ready quietly, trying not to wake Kurt. When I was done, I went upstairs to have breakfast.

"You were screaming last night", Burt said.

"I haven't had that nightmare in years", I told him, "I don't know what's going on with me. I can't perform a solo in Glee without bursting into tears".

"You're a great singer Maddie", he said, "You need to sing more often".

"I can do it in front of you and Kurt, but it's impossible to sing in front of the Glee members", I said, "Besides, I'd always be in competition with Rachel Berry".

"You can call me dad you know", Burt said.

"Now you and Kurt are conspiring with each other", I said.

We talked for a few more minutes, before Kurt came upstairs.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah. See you later, _dad_", I said.

* * *

That day in Glee club, I wasn't awake as I normally am.

As I was trying to copy Mr. Schuester's movements, I kept tripping over my own feet.

"Can we stop, please?" Rachel asked.

"Thank god", I muttered, about to fall to the ground

. "You don't have to ask me every time for permission to go to the bathroom, Rachel. You can just go", he said.

"It's not my bladder", Rachel told him, "It's the choreography".

"Okay, what's wrong with the choreography?" Mr. Schuester asked her.

"We can't compete with Vocal Adrenaline with these steps", Rachel said.

"Preaching to the choir", I quipped.

"You're a great vocal coach Mr. Shue, but you're not a…trained choreographer", Rachel said, "That's what we need to be best. We need Dakota Stanley".

"And who the hell is that?" I asked her.

"He understudied for the candelabra in Beauty & Beast on Broadway", Rachel told Mr. Schuester.

"Just because he understudied doesn't mean he ever preformed", Mr. Schuester told her.

"Did you ever perform, Mr. Schuester? After high school, did you even try?" Quinn asked.

"Low blow", I muttered under my breath.

"Let's take five", Mr. Schuester said.

Kurt helped me to my chair.

"I'm sorry about last night", I said softly.

"It's fine. If it wasn't, I wouldn't share a bedroom with you", he said.

"I think I'll walk home tonight", I told him.

"Are you sure? I could drop you off", Kurt said, knowing exactly where I would be.

"It's fine", I told him.

* * *

After school, I went by the cemetery where my parents were buried. I sat beside my mother's grave and took out my iPod. I softly sang while I did my homework.

"You know, this is pretty creepy", a voice said.

I jumped up and yanked the ear buds out of my ears. I turned and found a boy standing next to my father's grave.

"You're not seeing or hearing things. I'm real", he said.

I grabbed my stuff. "Thanks, but I don't know you", I said.

"You could", he said picking up my book.

"Well I don't want to", I said grabbing the book from him. I stormed out of the graveyard. "Smug little…" I cursed. I opened my book when I got home and found a note in it.

_To the weird graveyard girl, you've got an amazing voice._

I smiled and stuck the note into my journal.

"What was that?" Kurt asked.

"Nothing", I said blushing and shoved the journal in my desk.

* * *

The next few weeks, Mr. Schuester hardly showed up for Glee practice.

Rachel entered the room and said, "He's not coming".

"What happened?" Finn asked.

Rachel explained everything.

"Of course he doesn't want anything to do with us after you kicked him in the nads", Finn snapped.

"Then why did he thank me?" Rachel asked.

"The goal is to win", Santana said, "And now that Mr. Schuester has agreed to let us hire Dakota Stanley, we can".

"But he doesn't want us to. He just doesn't have the confidence to coach us anymore", Finn said, "Guys are real sensitive when it comes to this kind of stuff".

"And that's my fault?" Rachel asked.

"Do you see anyone else in here with a plate of 'I'm sorry' cookies?" Finn asked, "I don't. Just you".

"Why don't they have sex and get it over with?" I muttered to Kurt.

He smiled. "You said the same thing with the couples on Gray's Anatomy", he said.

"Because Meredith and Derek are perfect for each other. Kind of makes you want a love like that", I said.

"I'm bored. All those in favor of hiring Dakota Stanley?" Quinn asked.

Everyone raised their hands except Finn, Artie, and myself.

"Madison, raise your hand", Kurt hissed.

"I can dance perfectly fine", I told him, "I don't need some pompous guy telling me what to do".

* * *

Later that day, Kurt and I found Mercedes looking longingly at the couples in the hallway.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who's been bitten by the love-bug", I said. I started to hum 'Love-bug' by the Jonas Brothers.

Kurt rolled his eyes and turned to Mercedes.

"Have you ever kissed anybody?" Mercedes asked.

"Yes. If by someone you mean the tender crook of my elbow", he said spraying his hair with hairspray.

"I remember that. That was really weird", I said.

"Well who or what else was I supposed to practice on? You?" he asked.

I blushed.

Kurt turned back to Mercedes and said, "No. I haven't, but I want to".

"I haven't either if that makes you feel any better", I told Mercedes.

Kurt followed Mercedes' gaze.

She was watching Puck and Santana.

My heart fluttered.

Puck was a bad boy and I just loved that.

"Okay. Both of you, stop it", Kurt said, "We are in Glee Club. That means we are at the bottom of the social heap. Special Ed kids will get more play than we will. The only thing that gets me by is my knowledge that we are superior to all of them".

I noticed the boy from the graveyard watching me. "I'll catch you guys later", I said walking after him. I caught up to him. "Hey! Why are you watching me?" I asked him.

"You're interesting. I don't even know your name", he said, the pad of his thumb running across my bottom lip.

The air left my lungs.

He smiled crookedly and walked off.

I shook myself. I was losing my mind.

* * *

The day came. The day we, I use this term lightly, would convince Dakota Stanley to coach us.

We pulled up in Kurt's car and got out.

"Damn Kurt, this car is fly", Mercedes said.

"Our dad got it for my sweet sixteen after I swore to stop wearing formfitting sweaters that stop at the knee", Kurt said, "What he doesn't know doesn't hurt him".

"Kurt gets a car and what do I get? A new laptop and a kindle", I said.

"You said you didn't want a car", Kurt said.

"Yeah, but that was before I met your beautiful car", I told him smiling.

"Are we even sure they're rehearsing today?" Quinn asked.

"Vocal Adrenaline rehearsing everyday from 2:30 to midnight", Rachel said matter of factly.

"That should qualify as cruel and unusual punishment", I said.

Kurt linked his arm with Mercedes and she smiled.

I smirked in amusement and shared a look with Rachel and Tina.

"I'm just so nervous these Vocal Adrenaline kids are gonna laugh at us", Mercedes said, "They're so cool and popular, and we look like we just stepped off the short bus".

"Some of us more than others", I muttered under breath looking at Brittany.

"Those sweaty Nazi's have just had more time to practice", Kurt said, "We have more heart. And you don't look touched in the head. That outfit is amazing".

"So would you ever, you know, want to hang out?" Mercedes asked.

"Come over. It's Liza Minnelli week on AMC!" Kurt said.

I groaned.

"Shut-up Madison", Kurt snapped, "I put up with your Supernatural marathons".

"Oh come on. Like you don't enjoy watching Jared and Jensen, especially when one of them takes their shirt off", I said.

"Guys!" Rachel said coming through the group, "That's Andrea Cohen. She's won outstanding soloist last year at Absolutely Tampastic".

Everyone was disgusted when they realized that she was throwing up.

"You can't leave rehearsals for any reason", her friend told her, "That includes heat exhaustion or Crohn's disease".

Rachel walked up to them. "Are you guys Vocal Adrenaline?" Rachel asked excitedly.

I rolled my eyes.

"We'd like to talk to Dakota Stanley about choreography for our Glee Club", she finished.

"Don't! He's a monster!" the girl said.

"That doesn't sound good. This is a bad idea", I said.

Tina just nodded her head. We watched them perform, "Beggin' you for mercy".

When they were done, Stanely yelled, "Get off my stage!"

We sat there for the next few hours watching them rehearse.

When the rehearsal let out, we followed Rachel out of the school.

She ran up to Dakota Stanely. "Mr. Stanely! We're the McKinley High Glee Club!" she said.

"No interviews", Stanely said getting into his car.

"We'd like you to choreograph for us", Tina said stuttering.

"Look, my fee is $8000 per number, plus a $10,000 bonus if you place in the top three. And with Dakota Stanely at the wheel, you will place at the top three. Move it", he said. He put his car in drive and sped off.

"How are we gonna get $8000?" Rachel asked.

* * *

I was walking through the halls one day and walked past the choir room.

Mr. Schuester was in there with Finn and Puck.

They were rehearsing something.

It'd been days since I danced and I needed to let off some steam.

I opened the door and clapped.

The three turned.

"Nice moves", I said, "Keep going".

They started dancing again.

I jumped in the middle of Puck and Finn and joined in.

"Nice", Mr. Schuester said.

"Thanks", I said.

"Acafellas is only for guys, but you've got the makings of a great dancer", Mr. Schuester said.

"Thanks, but I don't really dance. I've been in gymnastics since I was like 5", I told him, "I only dance to blow off steam or when I'm stressed". I got to leave and Puck followed me.

"Hey Madison. Would you wanna come to our gig?" he asked.

I blushed and said, "Yeah. You should think about joining Glee Club. You'd be really good". I reached up and kissed him on the cheek. As I turned, I noticed the boy from the graveyard glaring daggers at Puck. I shook it off and went to class.

* * *

The Glee Club decided to do a car wash to raise money for Dakota Stanely.

I didn't really participate. I sat at the admission table and took money and directed people to where they were supposed to go. "One car wash please", I heard someone say. I looked up from my book and groaned. "Not you again", I said, "You just don't give up do you?"

"You can do better than Puckerman", he said.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I asked standing up, "Pay for your damn carwash and leave me alone".

He paid for his carwash and left.

I heard glass breaking. I looked around and found that Kurt had a huge hole in his windshield.

My eyes landed on Mercedes and I saw red.

I got ready to storm over there, but the graveyard boy stopped me. "I'll kill her", I spat, "Kurt's father gave that car to him for his birthday".

"But storming over there and punching her is not going to help", he said.

Somehow, what he said broke through the haze of anger.

He restrained me until Mercedes walked off.

"She busted my window!" Kurt shrieked.

"We'll call dad and explain everything to him. He'll understand", I told him.

* * *

In the end, we managed to raise enough money to hire Dakota Stanely.

He handed out packets saying, "Okay, please examine you personalized menus. This is what you're going to be eating for the next six months".

I wasn't given one.

"Mine just says coffee", Mercedes said.

"Mm-hm", Stanely said.

"What's smelt?" Rachel asked.

"A pungent low-carb freshwater fish", he answered, "Okay, let's start with today's business. Artie, you're cut. You're not trying hard enough".

"At what?" Artie asked.

"At walking. We can't be wheeling you around during every number. It throws off the whole dynamic and it's depressing", he said.

"So, you're kicking him out?" Mercedes asked.

"Mm-hm. Also you. Youse gotta go, Effie", he said.

My hands balled into fists.

"You can't kick people out of Glee Club because you don't like the way they look", Kurt argued.

"Uh, why don't you shut your face-gash and stay away from aerosol cans because you could burst into flames at any second?" Stanely said.

That was the last straw.

I started to take off my jacket.

Finn saw me and grabbed me.

"Let me go! No one insults my brother! I'm gonna wring your fat little neck!" I yelled reaching for Stanely. I broke free of Finn and grabbed my stuff. As I stormed down the hall, people ran out of the way. I went onto the football field and hid under the bleachers. Under my touch façade, I was a mess.

It was only when I was alone, when I would allow myself to cry.

Later, Kurt came and got me. "You've been crying. Why do you do this to yourself Madison?" he asked, "Let everyone see who are".

"I can't", I told him.

* * *

The night of the Acafellas performance came.

Burt dropped me off. "Do you need a ride home?" he asked.

"I'll let you know", I told him. I went inside and was told I had my own personal seat. Reserved.

When Puck sang, his eyes were on me, making me blush.

After the show, I met him outside. "You guys were amazing", I told him, "You should totally join Glee. Sure it's not the coolest thing in the world, but…" I was cut off by Puck's lips on mine. I pushed him back.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"You're great Puck, but…I know your reputation", I said. I kissed him on the cheek and said, "Think about Glee". I walked off and decided to just walk home. I heard a motorcycle pull up. I turned. "Or course you have a motorcycle", I said.

"What? Does it turn you on?" graveyard boy asked with his usual smirk, "Let me take you home".

I smiled and said, "Fine". I got on behind him and wrapped my arms around him.

Let me tell you…he was built.

We pulled up to my house.

"How did you know?" I asked him.

"I googled you", he said.

I blushed as I got off. "You'd better go, before…" I said.

"Madison Worthington-Hummel", I heard Burt's voice say. "That", I finished. I kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thanks for the ride home". I turned and went inside.

"Go to your room", Burt said.

I turned to go downstairs, but Burt stopped me.

He handed me the keys to Kurt's car. "Ask Kurt", he said.

I went downstairs and looked at Kurt.

"I convinced him to give the car. Just like you wanted. He took it from me after he found my tiaras", Kurt said, "Why can't you let anyone in Madison?"

"I don't want to talk about it Kurt", I told him.

* * *

The next day was possibly the one of the greatest days of my young life.

In Glee Club, Mr. Schuester stood up and announced we were working on choreography. "I'd like to invite Madison to help", he said.

I blushed as Kurt clapped me on the back. I stood up and helped Mr. Schuester demonstrate.

"What do you guys think?" he asked.

"Mr. Schuester?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, Rachel?" Mr. Schuester sighed.

"It was really good", she said and everyone laughed.

"Thank you. Thank you. From the top!" he said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N-I felt compelled to post another chapter.**

* * *

"Come on Maddie. Just help me. All you have to do hold the recorder", Kurt said. He put his iPod in our iHome and clicked on Single Ladies.

I hit record on the recorder.

It was good until I noticed our father coming down the stairs.

I dropped the recorder as he clicked off the music.

Kurt, Brittany, and Tina turned around facing him. "Dad! You're home early", Kurt exclaimed.

"Deadliest Catch is on. What are you wearing?" Burt asked.

"It's a unitard. Guys wear them to, uh, work out nowadays. Do sports. They wick sweat from the body", Kurt explained.

"F-f-f-football!" Tina stuttered.

"Yeah, all the guys in football wear them. They're jock chic", Kurt said.

"Totally. Kurt's on the football team now. He's the kicker – that's the smallest guy on the field, right?" Brittany asked as Kurt gave her a look.

"Yeah. Brit and Tina were just helping me with some conditioning work", Kurt said playing into the lie.

"Hmm. Really. You know, I played in JC before I busted up my knee, popping wheelies on my third bike", Burt said.

"Cool. I guess we'll have something to talk about, then", Kurt said chuckling.

"So one of you two his girlfriend?" Burt asked.

I snorted at the question.

Kurt placed his hand on Tina's back. "But I'm not ready to be exclusive just yet", Kurt said.

"Alright, just keep the music down. I can't hear myself think up there", Burt said. He started to walk back up the stairs, but stopped. "And hey, Kurt. Be sure to get me a ticket to your first game", Burt said.

Kurt nodded.

Burt went back upstairs.

"Good luck getting out of this one", I said patting him on the back. I grabbed my stuff.

"Where are you going?" Kurt asked as I tossed him the recorder.

I turned and said, "Nowhere".

* * *

The next day in Glee Club, Mr. Schuester handed out sheet music.

Of course Rachel had a problem with it.

"Excuse me, this isn't the right key", Rachel said.

"No. It's actually the right key", he said.

"No, no, this is the alto part", Rachel said.

"Yep. Tina's doing the solo", Mr. Schuester said.

"I'm sorry; there must be some sort of mix up. I thought I made it very clear that anything from "West Side Story" goes to me. Maria is my part! Natalie Wood was a Jew, you know. I've had a very deep, personal connection to this role since the age of one", Rachel explained.

I rolled my eyes. Why did she have to find a problem with everything?

"Well, I'm trying to shake things up a bit. Get us out of our boxes", Mr. Schuester said.

"You're trying to punish me", Rachel said.

"I think you're being irrational", he said.

"I think you're being unfair!" Rachel argued.

"Not everything's about you Rachel", I snapped.

"Madison's right. I think you're being unfair to Tina, who might have been happy about getting her first solo", Mr. Schuester said.

"Tina knows how much I respect her and I think she would agree with me that she's not ready for such an iconic role as Maria", Rachel said.

Mercedes took this time to say something. "Wait… I'm a Jet?" she asked.

Rachel emotionally stormed out of the room.

"The more times she storms out of rehearsal, the less impact it has", Artie said.

I agreed with him.

"Congratulations, Tina. This is going well", Mr. Schuester said. His tone was practically dripping with sarcasm.

* * *

After Glee rehearsal, I decided to sneak into the dance studio. I plugged my iPod into my speaker and hit play. I danced until I heard someone enter the room, the door slamming. I tripped over my own feet and hit the ground.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" the person said running up to me, "I didn't know you were in here. I was hoping to practice too".

I looked up. "You?" I asked.

It was the boy who drove me home.

He knelt down and turned my ankle around until I hissed. "It might just be sprained", he said. He gently put my stuff in my backpack and then slung my backpack over his shoulder. He picked me up.

"You're really strong", I said.

"Does it turn you on?" he asked smirking.

I blushed and said, "Kinda".

He carried me to the nurses' office. Kurt came and got me after class.

"Guess you get to drive your baby again", I said.

* * *

My next few days were spent writing, reading, and thinking about that boy.

I found myself falling in love with him and I didn't even know his name. T

he night of the football game came.

I didn't sit with my father. Instead I sat off to the side by myself. I was enjoying the game until _he _sat down next to me.

"How's the ankle?" he asked.

"Fine", I answered, biting my lip.

"You're really cute when you do that", he said.

I blushed.

We sat together quietly and watched the game.

"Why are you playing so hard to get?" he finally asked.

"I don't know", I said looking down at my lap. I didn't look up again until I heard music.

The football team was dancing.

They went ahead with Kurt's plan. They made a touchdown which meant it was up to Kurt.

Of course he made with _Single Ladies_.

I stood up and cheered, "Yeah! You go big brother!"

When I turned, the _he _was gone.

* * *

The drive home was dad talking all about Kurt's big win.

"Madison, aren't you happy for your brother?" he asked.

"Of course I am dad", I told him.

"Is it guy trouble?" he asked.

"Wait. What guy?" Kurt asked.

"Your sister was driven home by a boy on a motorcycle", he explained.

"Who is he?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know his name", I told him, "I don't want to talk about him anymore".

When we got home, Kurt and I got ready for bed and dad came downstairs.

"Nighttime skin care is a big part of my post-game ritual", Kurt explained.

"Well, I don't know what to say about that, but, uh… I was really proud of you tonight, Kurt. I wish your mom would have been there, I mean… alive", Burt said.

I felt awkward, so I got up and left the room. I went up on the roof.

* * *

The next day, three football players joined Glee Club. Mike, Puck, and Matt.

I smiled at Puck, but then saw the way he was looking at Quinn. My heart broke, because now I wouldn't have a chance next to her.

Just then, _he _walked in.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. This is Joey Westwood", Mr. Schuester said.

He looked at me and smiled.

I smiled back.

Now I had a name to put with my mystery guy.

Joey.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N- I know the song "Alone" is supposed to be sung by April and Mr. Schuester, but I'm changing things up a bit.**

* * *

Our invitational was coming up.

We were practicing the song that started it all.

Except instead of Rachel, who had quit, singing the duet, it was Quinn.

Halfway into the first verse, she ran out of the room.

We all quit singing.

"Quinn, you okay?" Mr. Schuester asked as Quinn ran out of the room.

"I think she just had a bad breakfast burrito", Finn said quickly.

"Can we please talk about the giant elephant in the room?" Kurt asked.

"Your sexuality?" Santana asked.

Joey grabbed my arm to keep me from punching her

. "Rachel, we can't do it without her", Kurt finished.

"That's not true", Mr. Schuester said, "We may have to layer Mercedes over Santana over Quinn's solo, but…we'll be fine".

"Maybe for the invitationals, but not the sectionals and certainly not for the regionals", Artie said.

"The wheelchair kid's right", Puck said, "That Rachel chick makes me want light myself on fire, but she can sing".

"Rachel left, guys. She's gone. Now, if we're going to make this thing work, we can't look back. All right, take five, guys", Mr. Schuester said.

"I have an idea", Kurt said.

"Let's hear it", he said.

"Why doesn't Madison just sing it?" Kurt asked.

My eyes went wide and my heart sped up.

"Madison?" Mr. Schuester asked.

The room was closing in on me and I couldn't breathe. I became dizzy.

"Oh god. Not again", Kurt sighed. He tried to grab onto me, but I jerked back.

"I'm fine", I told him panting, "I can do this".

"You wanna run it?" Mr. Schuester said.

I glanced at Joey and he nodded his head. "Yeah", I said.

"All right", Mr. Schuester, "Joey? You wanna take the lead?"

"That's really not necessary", I interjected, "I'd rather do it with Finn".

Mr. Schuester gave me a strange look.

Was it that obvious that I was hopelessly in love with Joey?

We ran it with Finn and I and I noticed the jealous looks from Joey.

* * *

Kurt was so excited for me and convinced dad to take us out for dinner.

"So, what's the special occasion?" he asked.

"Well, our little Madison is the new lead vocalist for the Glee Club", Kurt said.

Dad stood up and smiled. He hugged me and said, "I'm so proud of you. Your mother and father would be too".

That statement made me start crying.

"Oh Madison. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that", he said.

"I know", I told him.

"Let's just go and celebrate", he said.

I smiled and nodded.

* * *

The next few days were stressful between Glee practice and all the pressure on my shoulders.

I went to the auditorium and turned on my iPod. I began to sing:

_I hear the ticking of the clock  
I'm lying here the room's pitch dark  
I wonder where you are tonight  
No answer on the telephone  
And the night goes by so very slow  
Oh I hope that it won't end though  
Alone..._

_Till now I always got by on my own_

Then I heard a voice join in. I glanced around and saw Joey coming down the stairs singing and his eyes were on mine.

_I never really cared until I met you  
And now it chills me to the bone  
How do I get you alone  
How do I get you alone  
_

For the next verse, Joey stepped up on the stage and walked towards me. As he sung the verse with me, he ran his thumb over my lip.

_You don't know how long I have wanted  
To touch your lips and hold you tight  
You don't know how long I have waited  
And I was going to tell you tonight  
But the secret is still my own  
Oh, And my love for you is still unknown  
Alone..._

_Ooohhh... Ooohhh..._  
_Till now I always got by on my own_  
_I never really cared until I met you_  
_And now it chills me to the bone_  
_How do I get you alone_  
_How do I get you alone_

_How do I get you alone? (X4)_  
_Alone... alone..._

We were breathing heavily by the time we were finished.

"Madison Worthington-Hummel…" Joey started to say, but I stopped him.

"Please don't", I said, "Just don't".

"But I do", he argued.

"I barely know you. You can't", I told him, "Just leave me alone Joey".

I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the auditorium crying. I'm glad I missed the heartbroken look on Joey's face.

* * *

The next day, everyone in Glee Club was trying to figure out what was wrong with Quinn.

"Maybe, Quinn is lactose intolerant", Kurt supposed.

"That doesn't explain all the crying", Artie said.

"Time of the month?" I asked.

"Eww", Kurt remarked.

"Maybe she just doesn't like the group", Tina stuttered.

"Are you all that stupid?" Puck asked, "Seriously? I bet you thought Bert and Ernie were just roommates. Maybe, Quinn's got one in the oven".

"Pregnant?" I asked.

"Who's the baby's daddy?" Mercedes asked.

"Who do you think?" Puck asked.

"Finn", Puck said and Kurt laughed.

"Yes, you've heard right…I am returning to Glee Club", Rachel said entering the classroom, "In lieu of flowers, please send all donations to a socially conscious charity of your choice".

"This is a hot damn mess", Mercedes said, "Oh, my god".

"Um, I'm sorry; I thought I'd be welcomed back with a tad more enthusiasm", Rachel said, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Sorry, Glee Club has just been rocked by its first scandal", Kurt said.

"Quinn's knocked up", Mercedes explained.

"And the baby daddy? Finn", Kurt told Rachel.

You could tell by the look on her face that her whole world had come crashing down around her.

* * *

The night of the invitational had come.

Dad came in early wished me luck and bought me flowers.

We stood in the choir room warming up.

"The house is packed…you guys are going to kick butt tonight", Mr. Schuester said entering the room, "Your first performance in front of a real audience. I can't wait. You guys are gonna love it".

"Um…Mr. Schue, you may want to stop, because Madison looks like she's about to pass out", Finn said.

Before we went on stage, Joey grabbed my arm.

His lips landed on mine. He pulled back and winked. "For good luck", he said.

I blushed in embarrassment and anger. I took my place in front. I looked at Kurt and he smiled.

The curtain went up and the music started.

Luckily Mr. Schuester and Kurt had picked one of my favorite songs.

I quickly yanked out my ponytail and fluffed my hair. While singing and dancing, I was completely in my element. I got to dance with all the guys, but I enjoyed dancing with Joey the most.

When the number was over, everyone stood up and cheered.

Kurt attacked me and hugged me. "You did it. You were amazing!" Kurt said with happy tears in his eyes.

As we were getting ready for the next number, Rachel entered the room. "I quit the play", Rachel said.

"Really? Why?" Kurt asked.

"I realized being a star didn't make me feel as special as being your friend", she said, "I know all the words to the song".

"You don't know the choreography", Quinn said.

"Then we're going to have to give her a lot of help out there", Finn said.

I stepped forward and said, "I never really wanted that solo anyway".

"Go get in your costume", Mr. Schuester told her.

The next song was "Somebody to love" by Queen.

Joey looked at me the whole time we were singing.

* * *

**You didn't think I was going to have Joey tell Madison he loved her, did you? That would be too soon, plus I've already written some scenes from Ballad and Madison needs to kinda hate Joey.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

* * *

In Glee Club, we were learning choreography.

Needless to say, we all sucked.

"Come on guys, you're sleep walking on me here", Mr. Schuester said, "Give me some energy. We've got sectionals in two…"

"Please, Sectionals is going to be a breeze", Mercedes said.

"Maybe so, but if we coast through Sectionals, we're gonna get killed at Regionals. We have got to be on our game", Mr. Schuester said.

Suddenly Kurt started laughing. "Sorry. Funny Youtube. It's the grape stomping one", Kurt said.

When class was over, Kurt stopped me. "What is up with you lately? You usually pick up on choreography quickly", he said.

"It's getting closer", I told him, "And all the problems with Joey…"

"Why didn't you tell me? Why don't you take that day off?" he asked.

"Because I can't just miss school to spend the whole day in a graveyard", I told him.

"Madison…" Kurt said.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore Kurt", I said.

* * *

Mr. Schuester started out the next Glee rehearsal by saying, "Competition. Everyone of these people or elements was a champion in their own right. But they used competing with each other to make themselves even better".

"I don't understand how lightning is in competition with an above-ground swimming pool", Kurt said.

"Just go with it", Mr. Schuester said, "You guys have become complacent. You were great at the invitational, but you got to up your game if you want to get through Sectionals. Okay, split up. Guys on the left side, girls on the right side".

No one moved.

"Let's go. Come on", Mr. Schuester insisted.

We all split up, but Kurt came over to the girl's side.

"Kurt", Mr. Schuester said and nodded his head to the boys.

I patted him on the back before he went back over to the guys.

"Here's the deal. Two teams, boys v. girls", Mr. Schuester said, "One week from today, you will each perform a mash-up of your choice".

"What's a mash-up?" Puck asked.

"A mash-up is when you take two songs and mash them together to make an even richer explosion of musical expression. Boys will perform on Tuesday, girls the next day. I want you guys to go all out, okay. Costumes, choreography. Whoever wins this competition gets to choose the number that we do for Sectionals", Mr. Schuester explained.

"Wait, who's going to be the judge?" Rachel asked, "Your gender makes you biased".

"Ah…there's going to be a celebrity judge", Mr. Schuester told her.

"Wh-Who?" Tina stuttered.

"Oh, you're going to have to show up to find out", Mr. Schuester said.

"We got this in the bag", Mercedes said.

"Totally. I'm going to start storyboarding our choreography tonight", Rachel said.

As we were walking out the room, Joey mouthed, 'You're going down'.

I threw my hands up and mouthed, 'I really don't care'.

* * *

The rehearsal day for the mash-up competition had come.

We were on the stage and most of the girls were primping.

Brittany and I were stretching.

"Okay, girls, we need to get started", Rachel said.

"We're getting warmed up", Santana said.

"Where's Quinn?" Rachel asked.

"Probably down at the mall looking for elastic waist pants", Brittany said.

I couldn't help but smile at that comment, while all the other girls giggled.

"Mr. Schuester's right, you guys. We can't get complacent", Rachel said.

"Chill out. I already picked the songs. We're gonna do a mash-up of "Halo" and "Walking on Sunshine"", Mercedes said.

"That was my idea", Rachel reminded her.

"Whatever. Come on. We can do this in our sleep. You think those 7 dudes are gonna give us any competition?" Mercedes asked, "I say we just wing it".

"We can't just wing it", Rachel said.

"I hate to say this, but I agree with Rachel", I said.

"All those in favor of winging it?" Mercedes asked.

No one raised their hands.

"All those opposed?" Mercedes asked.

Rachel and I raised our hands.

"Looks like the ayes have it", Mercedes said.

I sighed because Rachel and I were still outnumbered.

4 against two.

* * *

The day came that the boys performed.

It was "It's my life" mashed up with "Confessions".

Halfway through the number, Joey and Mike had their own dance solo, while the other guys sang.

When the number was done, we all cheered and clapped.

I caught Joey's eye and he winked at me. I bit my lip and wanted nothing more than to kiss him. I mentally slapped myself and reminded myself that I was mad at him.

"Awesome, guys! Jeez, I didn't know you had it in you", Mr. Schuester said, "It's like someone slipped something into your juice boxes. Whoo! You ladies better bring it tomorrow. Otherwise, we've got our opening number for sectionals!"

The boys cheered.

As the guys left, Joey brushed past me.

I couldn't get his smell out of head for the rest of the day.

* * *

That afternoon, we all stayed after school to work on our number.

"I told you guys", Rachel scolded.

"We know. You've been berating us for the better part of an hour", Santana said.

"Were they really that good?" Quinn asked.

"They were, Quinn. Look, I was fine with arranging, choreographing, and directing this number free of charge. But we underestimated the boys. Their number will go to Sectionals and once again, I will be humiliated", Rachel ranted.

"How were we supposed to know they'd rock the house?" Mercedes asked, "They've never been good".

'I don't know about that', I thought, thinking back to Joey and I in the auditorium.

"How d-d-did they do it?" Tina asked.

"The real question is, 'What were they on?'" Kurt said walking into the room, "Though I've been grouped with the boys, my allegiance still remains with you ladies. They declined my offer to do their hair in cornrows and all my artistic decisions have been derided as too costly because they involve several verities of exotic bird feathers".

"What a wonderful monologue big bro", I said sarcastically clapping.

"We all took something", Kurt confessed.

The girls decided to level the playing field and take what the boys took.

I declined it. "If I 'm going to win against…look it doesn't matter", I said, "I'm not cheating".

* * *

The next day, it was our turn to perform and I loathed my outfit.

"Look at that. My little sister in a dress", Kurt teased.

Joey kept staring at me.

"Take a picture. It lasts longer", I growled. I took my place on stage with the girls. I didn't need what the girls took because I had my own drug of choice.

The memory of Joey and I singing together.

I shook myself out of the daydream and performed with the girls. I was out of breath by the time we finished.

"Madison!" Joey said and rushed to catch me before I fell.

The girls were too busy cheering and bouncing up and down to notice.

"I'm fine", I said pushing him off of me, "I didn't take it".

"What?" he asked.

"What you guys did. The girls took it too. I didn't", I told him. I walked over to Kurt and grabbed his arm. "Please get me out of this dress", I said.

Kurt laughed and went with me to the girl's locker room. "What's going on between you and Joey?" he asked.

"Nothing", I told him as I changed back into my jeans.

"Please. I noticed how worried he was about you", Kurt said.

I came out of the stall and put my converse on.

"Madison", Kurt said softly.

"There's nothing between us Kurt", I said, my cheeks turning red in embarrassment and anger.

* * *

Turns out, Principle Figgins found out about the Vitamin D situation and he got in trouble for it.

"We're really sorry, Mr. Schue", Finn said.

"We didn't mean to get you into trouble", Rachel added.

"I'm really disappointed in you guys", Mr. Schuester said, "Glee is supposed to be about what's inside your heart, not what's coursing through your veins".

"We know. And I think I speak for everyone when I say that we'd be happy to move forward and put this episode behind us", Rachel said.

"Well, it's not that simple", Mr. Schuester said, "Because of this debacle, it's been decided that I'm no longer fit to run Glee Club myself. We've been assigned a co-director".

"Who?" Rachel asked.

"Hey kids", Coach Sylvester said entering the room.

I personally didn't have anything against her. I've never done anything to her or her Cheerios.

"I got to tell you, I'm just thrilled to be coming on board to co-captain your little, uh, showbiz cruise. Ah, I can't wait to start singing and dancing and maybe even putting on the ritz a little bit", she said.

All the Glee club, minus the Cheerios, looked less than thrilled.

As I was leaving the room, I heard Joey call after me. I kept walking.

"Madison! I don't understand why you're mad at me", he said.

I rounded on him.

"You don't understand! What it's like to have your parents die at the same time! I only have Kurt and Burt. I don't need anyone else!" I yelled at him, "Just back off!" I stormed out to the car and roughly slammed the door.

* * *

**Who loved the Pitch Perfect reference? Did you catch it? If you did, let me know and I'll send you a little something. ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N-Madison really opens up in this chapter. I'm really disappointed that no one caught the Pitch Perfect reference in the last chapter.  
**

* * *

That week in Glee Club, Mr Schuester was acting really weird and as the days went on, I was becoming more and more unstable with the anniversary of my parents' death approaching.

"As we head into Sectionals, I want to get some feedback, like what kind of stuff you guys would like to be doing. Is there anything, any music in particular, that you guys want to do?" he asked.

"Could we maybe try something a little more…black?" Mercedes asked.

"I agree", Kurt said, "We do an awful lot of show-tunes".

"It's Glee Club. Not Krunk club", Rachel argued.

"Don't make me take you to the carpet", Mercedes snapped.

I managed to smile at that statement.

"Fantastic", Mr. Schuester said as Kurt snapped his fingers, "Thank you Mercedes, Kurt. Duly noted. Anything else?"

"I can pop and lock", Mike said raising his hand.

"Not really what we're going for Mike, but…noted", Mr. Schuester said, "Noted, yes".

* * *

The day had come. Mr. Schuester and Coach Sylvester flipped a coin.

It landed on heads.

"Alright. The following students have been selected for a special elite Glee Club called "Sue's Kids"", she said.

"Hold on. We agreed not split up the group", Mr. Schuester said.

"Oh, come on, Will. Give me a chance to do things Sue Sylvester's way", she said, "Maybe with my proven leadership abilities, I can help this pathetic little group of mouth breathers place at Sectionals".

"We can't even compete in Sectionals if we divide up the club, Sue", Mr. Schuester said, "It's against the rules".

"Really? You need to crack open a book, William", Coach Sue said, "Here, I have".

She tossed him a book. "Show Choir Rule Book, page 24. Provision 14, second addendum. 'Twelve members must perform for each team. However, not all members must perform every song'", she quoted.

"Fine", Mr. Schuester said, "Just go ahead. Take all the football players and your cheerios".

"All right, everybody, listen up. When you hear your name called, cross over to my side of this black shiny thing", she said.

"That's called a piano, Sue", Mr. Schuester said.

"Santana. Wheels. Gay Kid. Come on. Move it!" she yelled, "Asian, other Asian, Aretha, Shaft, and little orphan Annie".

Everyone's heads turned to me.

The room was silent, except for Kurt saying, "Oh my god. Maddie".

I bolted from the classroom.

* * *

*Joey's Pov*

"What's her problem?" Coach Sue asked.

It was quiet until Kurt said, "Today is the day Madison's parents died. I can go get her if you want me to".

Mr. Schuester sighed and said, "Joey. Go get Madison".

"Why him?!" Kurt shrieked, "She's my sister. She'll be at the football field, under the bleachers. Home side, to the right".

I found her exactly where Kurt said she'd be. "Madison. You've got to come inside", I said, but it didn't seem like Madison heard me.

* * *

*Madison's Pov*

The day my parents died kept replaying in my mind.

Joey knelt down and took me in his arms. He carried me to the nurse's office where they wrapped me in a blanket.

"Does this happen every year?" I heard Mr. Schuester ask Kurt.

"Pretty much. She just now starting calling our father, "dad". She doesn't like to be reminded of what happened", Kurt said.

"Did she ever go to therapy?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"We couldn't afford it and then my mother died…" Kurt explained.

"She's still not responding", the nurse said.

Kurt came inside and said, "Maddie? Sweetheart, can you hear me?"

I looked up at him with a blank expression. "I don't even remember what they looked like", I said and burst into more tears.

Kurt gathered me in his arms. "Shhh Maddie. Calm down. It's alright. I've got you", he said.

Once I calmed down, they took me to Miss Pillsbury's office. "Can Kurt stay?" I asked.

"I'm not going anywhere", Kurt said taking my hand in his.

"Mr. Schue, I don't think I can participate in Glee Club this week", I told him.

"I understand", he said.

"So…Madison. Today is the day…your parents…died", Miss Pillsbury said.

I nodded.

"Have you ever talked about it with anyone?" she asked.

"No", I said, "I can't. Nobody understands".

"Kurt's mother died", she said.

"Yeah, but he had a body to bury. He had closer", I said, "When the…plane crashed…their bodies were burned up by the engine fuel. Everything was destroyed. There's nothing but empty coffins in their graves".

"And that bothers you", Miss Pillsbury said.

"You're damn right that bothers me. Why was I cursed like this?! Why did Kurt get to bury his mother and I didn't?! Where's my closer?!" I yelled, "Nobody stepped to take care of me! Not even… It doesn't even matter".

"Is that why you resent your brother?" she asked.

"No! I love Kurt!" Madison insisted.

"Madison, she means your real brother", Kurt said.

I hadn't talked to Luke in years. I'd met him a couple of times, but never really gotten to know him. "I...I guess I do. When our parents died, he didn't step up to the plate to take care of me", I explained, "It's not that I don't love Burt for adopting me, because I do, I just wish he would talk to me more often. Let me know he loves me".

"That's why you won't let Joey in. You don't think anyone is capable of really and truly loving you besides your family", Kurt said.

"Because no one is. I'm aggressive and a loud mouth and mean. No one in their right mind would ever love me. Not if they truly knew me", I said.

"But no one does truly know you, because you won't let anyone in", Kurt said, "Maddie, there's someone out there for everyone. You've been telling that to me since we were children. Maybe it's time to take your own advice. I know you've grown up protecting me, but I don't need protecting anymore. Let me protect you now".

* * *

By the end of the week, everyone knew Quinn was pregnant.

Joey caught me by my locker one afternoon. "Come to the auditorium today. We're doing something for Quinn and the others really miss you and I...miss you", he said.

"Keep trying. One day you might wear me down", I told him.

"Sing something. Please", he said swiping some hair behind my ear.

"Fine", I told him. I gave him a note with the song on it.

* * *

I performed with group.

"And now Madison has a song she'd like to perform for you guys", Mr. Schuester said.

I stepped up to the mic as the others sat down. "Um…as you know, my parents have been dead since I was 7 and it still gets to me. I spent this week finding myself and understanding why I am the way I am and this song explains it all", I said, "It also explains why I never let anyone in". The song I picked was, "Because of you" by Kelly Clarkson.

The song started and I poured my heart and soul into it. By the end, I was in tears. Kurt got up, but I left the stage before he could walk on stage. I walked down to where the Glee Club was sitting. I hugged Mr. Schuester. I pulled back and said, "This is me. Anything you guys want to know, I'll answer".

"Who was the song about?" Artie said.

"My older brother Luke", I said.

Nobody asked anything else.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N-I thought it would a good way to initiate Madison into the Glee Club, by her getting slushied. **

* * *

Ever since Finn had joined Glee Club and the school had found out that Quinn was pregnant, they had since lost their popularity and Finn had gotten slushied.

"The slushy war has commenced", Kurt said.

Personally, I have never gotten slushied.

"And if Finn and Quinn got nailed, none of us are safe", Mercedes said.

"Okay, guys, we're a little behind for Sectionals, thanks to our Sue Sylvester detour", Mr. Schuester said entering the room, "But you guys seem to really enjoy doing mash-ups right? And I'm gonna keep you guys fired up. Plus, there's an important lesson to be learned with mash-ups. Sometimes, things are so different; they don't feel like they go together. But the big difference between them is what makes them great, like…chocolate and bacon".

My nose wrinkled in disgust and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Joey smile.

"Or Glee Club and football", Finn said, Quinn still cleaning his face off.

"Exactly. But you've proven that it is a great combination. So, here is my personal favorite song", Mr. Schuester said handing out the music, "And your homework for the week is to find an unexpected mash-up to go with it".

"Bust a move?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, this song is old school", Mercedes said.

"All right, um, Artie?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"Yeah?" Artie said.

"Try to follow along on the bass", Mr. Schuester said, "Finn, take us through it".

"Um, I'm sorry Mr. Schuester. I got corn syrup in my eye", Finn said.

"Okay, uh, Puck, how about it?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"I don't really groove on Young MC", he said.

"I am shocked at the lack of leading-man ambition in this room right now", Rachel said.

"Um…Joey?" Mr. Schuester asked, "You wanna help me out?"

Joey stood up and joined Mr. Schuester at the front of the classroom.

I know he was only doing this is show-off to me and please Rachel. I didn't like the song all that much, but it had a good beat, so I jumped up and started to dance with the guys.

Joey made it a point to keep brushing up against me.

Kurt stood off to the side, but smiled when he saw me having fun.

* * *

"So, any ideas for the mash-up?" Mr. Schuester asked entering the room.

Nobody said anything.

"Anybody?" Mr. Schuester asked, "Oh, come _on_, guys. It's like you're daring me to start dancing".

"I've been working on something", Puck said.

"Oh yeah?" Mr. Schuester asked him.

"It's my personal tribute to a musical Jewish icon", he said.

"Uh, fantastic. Let's hear it", Mr. Schuester said sitting down.

He started to play 'Sweet Caroline'.

Kurt turned and smiled at me.

'Sweet Caroline' happened to be one of my favorite songs, but you could tell the song was meant for Rachel.

Of course when Joey was singing it, he was looking at me.

That boy just wouldn't give up.

* * *

Apparently the football coach was making the boys choose.

We all stood in the choir room watching the clock.

When it hit 3:30, they still hadn't come in.

"I guess they're not coming", Mr. Schuester said, "I'm really sorry, guys".

"I can't believe this", Mercedes said, "I thought they were our friends. How can they just abandon us?"

A few seconds later, Mike and Matt entered the choir room.

And then Puck.

We all gasped and Rachel went to go hug him.

"Where's Finn?" Artie asked.

* * *

The next day, I noticed Finn walking up to Kurt and Rachel holding a slushy.

"Do it", Kurt said.

"I really don't want to", Finn said, "Honestly, I know how picky you are about what products you use on your face".

"But you've been getting so much pressure from the gorillas on the football team. I guess they didn't appreciate me resigning from the team and choosing Glee", Kurt said.

"Probably would've went over better if you didn't announce it in the showers", Finn said.

"You are not going to slushy on my man, Kurt", Mercedes said.

"Why wouldn't he? He's made his choice", Rachel said, "He doesn't care about us "losers" anymore".

"No, that's not true, it's just if I don't do it, the guys on the team are going to kick the crap out of me", Finn said.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Kurt asked.

I watched in horror as Kurt took the slushy from Finn. I stepped in between them. I took the slushy from my brother.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked.

I took a deep breath and said, "I've never been slushied before. After this…Kurt…I'm sorry I ever laughed at you". Then…I did it. I slushied myself.

"Get out of here. And take some time to think whether or not any of your friends on the football team would've done that for you", Kurt said and Finn left. "How do you feel?" Kurt asked me.

"Like I was bitch-slapped by a freaking iceburg!" I snapped.

"Come on", Rachel said directing me into the bathroom.

As the girls and Kurt cleaned me up, Rachel said, "You didn't have to do that".

I looked at Kurt and said, "My brother's been slushied one too many times. I wasn't about to let it happen again".

* * *

Finn entered the choir room with a tray full of slushies. "So, what do you think about my welcome back gift to the club, huh, guys?" Finn asked.

"Thanks for the slushies, Finn. They're delicious", Rachel said.

"And loaded with empty calories", Kurt added, "You do know why they're called slushies, don't you? Because your butt looks like one if you have too many of them".

"I'd like to propose a toast to Mr. Schue", Finn said, "You were right about Glee Club and football being a killer combination".

"Yeah!" everyone cheered.

"Mr. Schue, I am sorry to report that we've all been remiss about completing our assignment this week", Artie confessed.

"Yeah, none of us could find a good groove for "Bust a Move", Mercedes said.

"And I personally feel like a failure", Artie said.

"Well, that's okay, guys, because I feel like the lesson landed and that's what's important. And…we are glad to have you back, Finn", Mr. Schuester said.

Everyone cheered.

"You okay, Quinn?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"Do I look okay?" she asked him, "I'm devastated. Now that I'm off the Cheerios, I'll start every day with a slushie facial".

"That's okay if that happens, Quinn. Because there are 13 of your friends right here who are going to be more than happy to help clean you off", Mr. Schuester said.

"Yeah", we all said.

"Oh! Brain freeze", Mr. Schuester said, "I can't imagine getting hit in the kisser with one of these".

We all shared a look.

"You've never been hit by a slushie before, Mr. Schue?" Artie asked.

"Um…alright guys", he said, "We're a team. Bring it on. Give me your best shot".

"One, two, three", Rachel counted and everyone threw their slushie onto Mr. Schuester, except me.

"Madison, why didn't you throw your slushie?" Kurt asked.

"Because, I'm not wasting a perfectly good slushie", I told him and everyone laughed.

"All right. From the top", Mr. Schuester said and took a drink of his own slushie.

Everyone laughed and cheered.

* * *

**If you understand the "Bitch-slapped by an iceburg" line, then you're a true Gleek. If you know where it came from, put it in your review and I'll send you a little something. ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N-Can't wait to write the next chapter. Ballad is one of my favorite episodes. Also, what should Joey and Madison's couple name be?**

* * *

Mr Schuester entered the classroom and said, "All right, guys. We're doing a new number for Sectionals. I know that pop songs have sort of been our signature pieces, but I did a little research on past winners, and it turns out that the judges like songs that are more accessible. Stuff they know. Uh, standards, Broadway". He handed out the sheet music and I groaned.

"'Defying Gravity'? I have an iPod shuffle dedicated exclusively to selections from Wicked. This is amazing", Kurt said excitedly.

"Yeah, cause you only sing it every morning", I said.

Mr. Schuester smiled at him as Rachel said, "It's my go-to shower song. It's also my ring tone".

Kurt looked crushed and it broke my heart.

"Why do we have to go all vanilla on this song? See, what we need is my chocolate thunder", Mercedes said.

"Okay, we don't have time to rearrange a song for you, Mercedes. Rachel is singing it. Don't worry, we'll find something for you to dip in chocolate", Mr. Schuester said.

Everyone laughed while Finn looked confused.

"On to item two. The school won't pay for the special bus we need to take Artie and his wheelchair with us to sectionals", Mr. Schuester said.

"W-w-what?!" Tina stuttered.

"That's completely unfair", Rachel said.

"So we're going to have to raise money to pay for it ourselves. See, when I was in glee club, and we needed new silk cummerbunds for regionals, we held a bake sale", Mr. Schuester said.

There was a pause and then scattered laughter.

"You're joking, right? I mean, bake sales are kind of bougie", Santana said.

"So hip people stopped eating delicious sugary treats?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"It's not that? It's most of us? Don't know how to bake? I find … recipes confusing", Brittany said.

"My family is fully committed to takeout", Rachel said.

"Yeah, Mr. Schue, kids are busier than when you went here. We've got homework and football and teen pregnancy … lunch", Finn said.

"Madison knows how to bake", Kurt said and I hid my face behind the sheet music.

"Can't Artie's dad just take him?" Mercedes asked.

"I can't believe how insensitive you're all being. Are you a team?" Mr. Schuester said.

"Of course. But Artie understands, don't you, Artie?" Quinn asked.

"Oh… Of course. I-It's cool. Anything that takes away our time from rehearsing doesn't serve the team", Artie said, but you could tell it bothered him.

* * *

The next day, Kurt stood up in Glee Club and said, "I have something I'd like to say. I want to audition for the wicked solo".

"Kurt, there's a high F in it", Mr. Schuester said.

I stood up to snap at him, but Joey stopped me.

"That's well within my range", Kurt said.

"Well, I think Rachel's going to be fine for the female lead, but I'm happy to have you try out something else, Kurt. And we'll make sure it's got a killer high note", Mr. Schuester said.

Kurt sat back down and I patted his shoulder.

"You tried", Artie told him.

"Anyway, I wanted to say something to you guys. I was a little disappointed at how you were all so willing to take the bus to get to sectionals and make Artie drive by himself with his dad. We're a team, guys. We're in this glee club together", Mr. Schuester said.

"Artie doesn't care. His dad drives him everywhere", Mercedes said.

"I do care. It kind of hurt my feelings", Artie said.

"We didn't think you would take it personally", Rachel said.

"Well, you're irritating most of the time, but don't take that personally", Artie said and I snorted.

"I don't know if you guys really understand how much harder Artie has to work just to keep up", Mr. Schuester said.

"Preach", Artie said.

"We're riding to sectionals together. Or we're not going at all. And to pay for the bus, we're having a bake sale", Mr. Schuester said.

"Bust out your pots and pans", Joey whispered to me.

Several people wheeled empty wheel chairs into the room.

"St. Ignatius nursing home was having a tag sale, and my AV club friends here agreed to help out. For the next week, each of you is going to spend three hours a day in a wheelchair", Mr. Schuester explained.

Everyone looked shocked.

"Oh, oh, oh. And we're doing a wheelchair number", Mr. Schuester said.

* * *

"You're pretty good at this", Joey said rolling down the hallway with me in his own wheelchair.

"Spent some time in one as a kid. Got in a car accident with my parents", I told him, "I mean…it was just a couple of days, but I guess this is like riding a bike, you never forget".

"I was wondering…if you wanted help with baking cookies or cupcakes…I could help you", he said.

I smiled and said, "I'd like that. Come over after school. Kurt and I have to stop by the garage to see our father first, so I'll text you when I'm available".

"That would involve getting your number", Joey said smiling. I rolled my eyes and scribbled my number on his arm.

* * *

When we ran by the donut shop, I could tell the solo thing was bothering Kurt.

We went by the garage and dropped off the donuts.

"Where's my jelly creme center?" dad asked.

"Sorry, dad, I must've forgotten", Kurt said.

"I got one", I told him and tossed him the bag.

"What's up with your brain today? You know, I think it's going soft from all that crap you put in your hair", dad said and I smiled.

"It's organic and I'm fine. I'm sorry; it's a Glee club thing", Kurt explained.

"It's not about a guy, is it? 'Cause I'm not ready to have that conversation", dad said.

I don't think he'd ever be ready for that conversation.

"Oh, at least you don't have to worry about me getting someone pregnant", Kurt joked and chuckled.

Dad just looked uncomfortable.

"It's not a guy. We're doing this amazing song for sectionals, a personal favorite of mine, and Mr. Schuester won't give me a chance to sing it", Kurt explained.

"Why?" dad asked.

"It's traditionally sung by a girl", Kurt said.

"Well, you sing like a girl. You know, in a good way", dad said and Kurt nodded, "Look, Kurt, I don't know how this music stuff works. I'm pretty exclusively committed to my Mellencamp collection. But isn't there more crossover nowadays? You know, chicks doing construction, guys wearing dress shoes with no socks? Didn't that girl from your high school just join the boy's wrestling team?"

"Yes, but her parents had to sue the school", Kurt said.

"This is really getting you down, isn't it?" dad asked him.

"I'm full of ennui", Kurt said.

"So, it's … _really_ getting you down?" dad asked.

"Yes", Kurt said.

"Kurt, come on. We've got homework to do", I said.

"Kurt, I'll take care of this", dad said.

Kurt and I got home to find Joey waiting next to his bike.

"Hey gorgeous", he said smirking.

"Oh shut-up", I said and dragged him inside. I led him into the kitchen and plugged my iPod into the iHome and clicked on the playlist: Duets.

Joey and I baked together for the next couple of hours.

We were in the middle of a song when the song clicked off.

I turned and found dad standing there.

"Daddy, this is Joey", I said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir", Joey said putting his hand out.

Dad just stared him down. "You're the guy with the motorcycle", he said, "Madison, what is he doing here?"

"He was helping me bake for the Glee Club bake sale", I explained.

"Why don't you head on home?" dad told Joey.

Joey grabbed his stuff and said, "See you later". He swiped a cookie off the tray before leaving.

Dad said nothing.

* * *

"I know this is going to be hard on you, Rachel, but I can't, in good conscience, preach about the importance of helping Artie and then reject Kurt's request out of hand", Mr. Schuester said in the next Glee rehearsal.

"So, you're giving him my part? This is totally unfair. You gave me the part", Rachel said.

"And I will give it to you again. If you can sing the song better than Kurt. Now, all of you are going to judge, and in the spirit of full access, each of you is going to get a vote. Whatever singer has the most votes, gets the part", Mr. Schuester explained.

"This isn't going to be about talent, Mr. Schuester. It's going to be a popularity contest", Rachel argued.

"Stop right there. Mr. Shue, if I may", Kurt said wheeling himself to the front, "We all know I'm more popular than Rachel. And I dress better than her. But I want you all to promise me that you're going to vote for whoever sings the song better. Raise your right hand".

We all raised our right hands, with the exception of Brittany who raised her left hand.

"Your _right_ hand, Brittany", Kurt said.

Santana patted Brittany's right hand and said, "It's this one".

"Sorry", Brittany said raising her other hand.

"Repeat after me. I promise to vote for whoever sings the song better", Kurt said.

"I promise to vote for whoever sings the song better", we all recited.

Kurt smiled and faced Rachel. "It's on", he said and wheeled himself back to the group.

* * *

Kurt had been practicing all day to hit the note he needed to.

Of course dad and I knew he could do it.

The day he hit the note, he dragged me to the garage to tell dad.

When we got there, I could tell something was bothering him.

"Hey, dad", Kurt said running up to him.

"What the hell is wrong with this machine?" dad snapped.

I walked up and fixed the coffee machine.

"I hit it, the high F. The magical note I need for "Defying Gravity." I hit it. It means I'm going to win", Kurt told him.

"That's great. Good for you. Just how long till the damn coffee's ready?" dad snapped.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked.

"I got a phone call this morning. The anonymous kind. It was some dude telling me my son was a fag", dad said.

"Oh. Well, that's not a big deal. I get that all the time", Kurt said brushing it off, but you could tell it bothered him.

"Yeah, but I don't. Now look, Kurt, I… I try to do right by you, you know, open some doors. What father wouldn't do that for his kid? And I know it's good for you to be out there with all this Glee Club stuff. I just… I don't want you to get hurt", dad said.

"So you don't want me to audition for the solo?" Kurt asked.

"No, no, let me be clear, all right? No one pushes the Hummel's around. Especially cowards on the phone. Sometimes I just… I wish your mom was still around, you know? She was better at handling this kind of thing, you know, handling me. Well, congrats on, uh… You know, the cool A or the high C or whatever", dad said.

"High F", Kurt corrected.

"Yeah", dad said.

When Kurt and I got in the car, he turned to me and said, "I'm going to throw it".

"What?" I asked him.

"The solo. I can't see dad go through that", he said.

"But Kurt, you love this song. You deserve this more than Rachel", I told him.

"I know, but…there will be other solos", he said.

* * *

"All right, welcome to the glee club's first official diva-off", Mr. Schuester said.

I hugged Kurt and said, "I really hope you don't do this".

We all took our seats.

"Let's get this party started", Mr. Schuester said.

When Kurt sang, his voice cracked, but I knew he would just brush it off as nerves.

Rachel was perfect as always.

"What are you going to tell dad?" I asked him.

"The truth", he said.

That night we went by the garage so Kurt could tell dad the truth.

"Hey, dad. What are you doing?" Kurt asked.

"I'm making biscuits. What does it look like I'm doing? How did the tryout go?" dad asked.

"They gave the part to Rachel", Kurt told him.

"I knew they were going to rig it. I'm going down to that school and I'm talking to Schuester", dad said.

"I blew the note. I wanted to lose", Kurt said.

"Kurt, I stuck my neck out for you. And you go and you throw the game?" dad asked.

"Dad, I've known who I was since I was five. I adapted. Being different made me stronger. And at the end of the day, it's what's going to get me out of this cow town. You never had to do that", Kurt explained.

"I can handle myself just fine", dad said.

"No, you can't. Not about this. That phone call yesterday was just the beginning. Especially if I get up in front of a thousand people to sing a girl's song. When I saw you right after you got the call, and you were so hurt and so upset … It just killed me. I'm not saying I'm going to hide in the closet. I'm-I'm proud of who I am. I'm just saying that I love you more than I love being a star", Kurt said.

Dad teared up and said, "You are your mother. You know, she was always the strong one … Look, uh, you want to help me put a 195 on this bad boy, huh?"

"Let me change into my coveralls. This sweater's an Alexander McQueen", Kurt said walking off.

While Kurt was gone, dad said, "You like that boy don't you? Joey?"

"Not really", I said blushing, "I think he's trying to hard".

"Kurt told me Maddie, about the day you sang in Glee Club. He's right. You just need to let the boy in. let him see the sweet and kind side of you. Your still a girl. Doesn't every girl want to be loved by a boy?" he asked.

"It's never been my top priority", I told him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N- My favorite chapter to write so far. **

* * *

Mr. Schuester entered the classroom and wrote Ballad on the board. "Ballad. From Middle English, balade. Who knows what this word means?" he asked.

"It's a male duck", Brittany blurted out.

"Kurt", Mr. Schuester said.

"A ballad is a love song", Kurt answered.

"Sometimes, but they don't always express love. Ballads are stories set to music—which is why they're the perfect storm of self-expression. Stories and music are the way we express feelings that we can't get out any other way. Okay, now, sectionals are in a few weeks and there's a new rule this year— we have to perform… a ballad", Mr. Schuester explained.

"Looks like my weekly letter to the Ohio Show Choir Committee finally paid off!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Okay. So here's our assignment for the week: I'm going to pair you off, and I want you to pick a ballad to sing to your partner. Look them right in the eye, find the emotion you want to express, and make them feel it", Mr. Schuester said.

I saw Joey's eye land on me.

"I pick Quinn", Finn said.

"No, no, no. Too easy. Your partners will be chosen by fate", Mr. Schuester said.

"Ooh!" we all said.

"Ooh, yeah. I put all your names in this hat. Whoever you choose is your partner", Mr. Schuester said.

"I bet the duck's in the hat", Brittany said.

"But Matt's out sick today. He had to go to the hospital, 'cause they found a spider in his ear", Santana said.

"Um… I guess I'll just have to put my name in the hat for now. Who's up first?" Mr. Schuester asked drumming with his hands.

Puck got up first and drew a name. "Mercedes", he said.

"All right", Mr. Schuester said.

Artie wheeled himself up and drew a name. "Quinn", he said.

Finn was next. "Kurt", Finn said.

Kurt looked like he was going to pass out with happiness as the Glee Club laughed.

"Mr. Schue, I don't know if I can do this with another guy", Finn said.

"The fates have spoken, Finn", Mr. Schuester told him.

Tina walked up and drew a name. "Other Asian", she said.

Santana was next. "Brittany", she gasped.

"How fitting", Mr. Schuester said.

"Yay! No way", Brittany said.

Joey got up next.

The only names left in the hat were mine, Rachel's, and Mr. Schuester's.

He drew the name out and smiled. "Madison", he said.

I groaned loudly and dramatically. "God is punishing me", I whined.

"Looks like I get you, Mr. Schue", Rachel said getting up.

"Uh… you know what? Maybe we should just wait until Matt gets back", Mr. Schuester suggested.

"The fates talked, Mr. Schue", Finn said and everyone laughed.

"Would you mind clarifying what kinds of songs you want us to sing?" Artie asked.

"Why don't you let Mr. Schuester and I demonstrate. Brad, "Endless Love" in B-flat, please. It's my favorite duet", Rachel said.

"I really don't think that's an appropriate song, Rachel", Mr. Schuester said.

"Why? It's a great song, and it's a perfect ballad", Rachel said.

"Yeah. I really like that song, Mr. Schue", Finn said.

The two performed it and we all clapped.

"Okay. Something like that", Mr. Schuester said.

* * *

Joey took it upon himself to pick our ballad. He walked up to me in the hallway with sheet music.

"Elephant love medley? Really?" I asked him.

"Come on. I know it's your favorite film and it's perfect", Joey said.

"Kurt told you this. There's no other way you could have known that", I told him.

"Okay, so your brother told me. Come on. Please?" he asked swiping hair behind my ear and smiling that crooked smile.

My knees nearly buckled as I stuttered, "O-o-okay".

* * *

Joey and I had opportunities to rehearse the song, but I just couldn't bring myself to. I knew my part, he knew his part. I knew that if I sang with him that would be it. My heart would be his and I wasn't quite ready for that.

Kurt and I were watching Devil Wears Prada again when it slipped out.

"I'm in love with Joey", I said.

Kurt stopped and paused the movie. "You what?" he asked.

I got off the bed. "If I sing that song with Joey…" I said.

"That's why you've got to do it", he said.

* * *

Along with our own ballads, the Glee Club decided to sing "Lean on Me" for Finn and Quinn.

When we were done, Joey stepped up and said, "Um…Mr. Schue, I know we're not required to sing our ballads, but I'd really like to sing mine and Madison's".

My eyes went wide as Mr. Schuester said, "Sure. Go for it".

Joey handed the sheet music to Brad as I tried to calm myself down.

"Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love!" Joey said.

"Please, don't start that again", I said.

"All you need is love!" Joey sang.

"A girl has got to eat!" I told him.

"All you need is love!" Joey sang again.

"She'll end up on the street!" I said.

"All you need is looooove!" Joey sang.

"Love is just a game", I sang back.

Then the song really began:

(Joey)  
I was made for loving you baby,  
You were made for loving me.  
(Madison)  
The only way of loving me baby,  
Is to pay a lovely fee.  
(Joey)  
Just one night,  
Give me just one night.  
(Madison)  
There's no way,  
Cause you can't pay.  
(Joey)  
In the name of love!  
One night in the name of love!  
(Madison)  
You crazy fool,  
I won't give in to you.  
(Joey)  
Don't, leave me this way.  
I can't survive, without your sweet love,  
Oh baby, don't leave me this way.  
(Madison)  
You'd think that people would've had enough of silly love songs...  
(Joey)  
I look around me and I see it isn't so, oh no.  
(Madison)  
Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs  
(Joey)  
Well what's wrong with that?  
I'd like to know.  
Cause here I go... again...

At this point, Joey climbed on top of the piano, like Christian does in the movie. His eyes sparkled as he sang down to me.

Love lifts us up where we belong!  
Where eagles fly,  
On a mountain high!  
(Madison)  
Love makes us act like we are fools.  
Throw our lives away,  
For one happy day.  
(Joey)  
We could be heroes...  
Just for one day.  
(Madison)  
You, you will be mean.  
(Joey)  
No, I won't.  
(Madison)  
And I, I'll drink all the time.  
(Joey)  
We should be lovers...  
(Madison)  
We can't do that.  
(Joey)  
We should be lovers!  
And that's a fact.  
(Madison)  
Though nothing, would keep us together.

Joey got off the piano and walked closer to me as he sang.

(Joey)  
We could steal time...  
(Both)  
Just for one day.  
We could be heroes,  
Forever and ever,  
We could be heroes,  
Forever and ever,  
We can be heroes...  
(Joey)  
Just because I... will always love you...  
(Madison)  
I...  
(Both)  
...Can't help loving...  
(Joey)  
...You...  
(Madison)  
How wonderful life is,  
(Both)  
Now you're in, the world...

By the time we finished, Joey's face was so close to mine, I could feel his breath on my cheeks. Joey smiled crookedly and captured my lips with his.

I returned the kiss as everyone cheered.

We broke away and Mr. Schuester said, "Now that's a ballad".

I just blushed and hid my face in Joey's chest.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

* * *

"Your brother says you're dating that boy. Joey", dad said the next morning.

I paused while eating my cereal. "It was one kiss", I said glaring at Kurt.

"Oh come on Madison. It was in front of the whole Glee Club", he said.

"Doesn't mean it meant anything", I said.

"Tell that to him", Kurt said as we heard a motorcycle pull up.

I blushed and grabbed my stuff. I opened the door and found Joey standing there.

"I got you your own helmet", he said setting it on my head.

He threw his arm around my shoulders as I tossed my keys to Kurt.

* * *

Later in the week, Mr. Schuester decided to invite one of the competing schools to our auditorium to show us what they had.

"Okay, guys, so first of all I want to welcome Ms. Hitchens and the Jane Addams glee club. We're all very happy to have you guys here. So, um, we're going to let you guys start us off. Let's see what you got", Mr. Schuester said.

Needless to say, their dancing was amazing.

Although, they kept throwing their hair around and it was a bit distracting.

I turned to Joey. "Meet me in the dance studio", I told him and he nodded. I left the auditorium and grabbed my iHome from my locker. I was stretching when he came in.

"Lay on your side and pull your leg up", he said.

I did as he said.

He came and placed his hand on my leg and pushed it closer to my head.

"Oh god that feels good", I said.

"Yeah. Best if someone helps you", he said.

The stretch in my muscle felt good, but the feel of Joey's hands on me felt good too.

I got up and clicked my iPod on a random song, which happened to be "El Tango De Roxanne". I blushed and took my place.

The whole time we were dancing, Joey's eyes stayed on mine. The way his green eyes burned into mine and the intensity of the song, made my whole body flush. The way our bodies pressed against each other made other images enter my mind.

When the song ended, I broke away.

"Madison? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't", I said, "I can't do this". I scrambled to pack my stuff and bolted into the hallway. "Madison!" I heard Kurt yell. I heard footsteps running after me and I ran faster. When I made it to the football field, I stopped running.

"Why the hell were you running like that?" Kurt asked collapsing to the ground.

"Everything!" I yelled, "The pressure in Glee Club, the way I want Joey! I can't do it anymore". I collapsed on the ground next to my brother.

"What do you mean the way you want Joey?" Kurt asked.

"Like…I want him. Like…sexually", I whispered.

Kurt shot up. "What?" he asked.

I hid my face in my hands. "I knew I should have never danced with him", I told him, "We danced a version of the tango".

"Luck is just not your side", Kurt said.

"It's not", I said, "I feel like I'm going to explode".

"Maybe, you can have Joey help you with that", Kurt said smirking.

"Eww!" I said hitting him in the chest.

"Madison?" a deep voice asked.

I froze as Kurt got up.

"I'll see you later", he said grabbing his stuff.

Joey came and sat next to me. "You want to explain to me why you ran off?" he asked.

"I want you", I told him.

"I want you too", he said.

"No…I mean I _want_ you", I said, "The way your body brushed against mine..."

Joey moved closer to me and ran a finger down my arm.

I gasped.

He leaned over and brushed a kiss on my neck.

I bit my lip to stop a sigh.

"Come over tonight", he said softly in my ear, "We don't have to do anything".

"If one touch can make me go weak…it's going to lead to other things", I told him, "I want to. Soo badly".

He smiled and kissed me. "I'll wait as long as you want me to", he said.

"Where have you been all my life?" I joked.

"Right under your nose", he said pecking me on the nose.

* * *

The next day, Mr. Schuester entered the room and said, "All right, guys. I did some thinking last night. I think I found our new number for Sectionals. We're going to do the title song from "Hair". Now, this show started a revolution".

"Wait, did they have Mohawks back then? Like in the 20's or whatever?"' Puck asked, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Yeah, Mr. Shue, if we're going to do a song about hair, shouldn't we have more hair?" Finn asked.

"One step ahead of you. Here are your wigs", Mr. Schuester said throwing Finn a bag.

Joey picked out one with long blonde hair.

Rachel pulled Mr. Schuester aside to talk to him.

He turned back and said, "Looking great, guys!"

* * *

Kurt found me later that day. "Guess what I'm doing tonight?" he asked.

"Lay on your bed in our and dream about Finn Hudson", I joked.

"No. I'm going to give Rachel Berry a makeover and ruin her chances with Finn", he said.

"Sounds evil, but do it at her house. I'm not in the mood to have to deal with her", I told him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "Sexual tension between you and a certain dancer? You know there _is _a way to deal with that".

"You did not just suggest that. Just because you…" I said.

His hand slammed down on my mouth. "You said you'd never mention that", he said looking around to make sure no one heard.

I licked his hand and he let go.

"Eww", he said.

"That'll teach you not to put your hand over my mouth", I told him.

"You just want time with Joey don't you?" Kurt asked, "Well…dad's going to be pretty late tonight, so that should give you a couple of hours".

"Thanks Kurt", I said kissing him on the cheek.

Joey came over that night. We didn't do much, but talk and watch movies, with the occasional make out session.

Kissing Joey…let's just say I finally understand why people like to kiss.

* * *

"Some of you, particularly the guys, have come up to me with some questions about hairography. One of our own has volunteered to walk us through it. She has got it down. Brittany, take it away", Mr. Schuester said.

"Take what away?" Brittany asked.

"Show us what you got", Mr. Schuester told her.

"Oh. All right. So, hairography. It works best when you pretend like you're getting tasered. So you just move your head around like you're spazzing and stuff", Brittany said taking out her ponytail and whipped her hair around.

"Very nice", Mr. Schuester said.

"Wow", we all said.

"You guys, it's like cool epilepsy", Brittany said.

All of us started whipping our hair around.

"Come on, guys. Let's see what you got. Good, guys, yeah. Just relax and go for it, all right", Mr. Schuester said. Mr. Schuester left the room while we were practicing. We all stopped when we heard Mr. Schuester and Coach Sylvester yelling at each other in the hallway. Mr. Schuester entered the room and said, "Okay, guys, from the top".

* * *

Mr. Schuester had also invited the deaf choir from the other competing school.

"Thank you all for coming. We are so honored to have you guys here. So, without further ado, I present the New Directions", Mr. Schuester said and we started singing our mash-up.

When we finished, it didn't seem like it was a very good idea at all.

Then, we sat down and let the other choir perform, "Imagine", in sign language of course.

We all joined in and signed with them.

* * *

The next day, Mr. Schuester said, "We're starting from scratch. Grab a stool".

"So, we're a stool choir now?" Artie asked.

"Nope. We're not dancing with the stools. No gimmicks. No false theatricality. We're just going to sit in them and sing", Mr. Schuester said.

"Thanks, Mr. Schuester", Rachel said.

The last song we performed for the week was "True Colors".

Joey reached over and took my hand in his and I reached over and took Kurt's.

This is where I belonged. Between my two favorite guys in the world.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

**A/N-Sorry it's been so long. School and everything...**

* * *

"Where's Rachel?" Kurt asked.

"She's not here yet", Finn said.

"Perfect. Glee club stands on a delicate precipice. We have all felt the cold humiliation of a slushie in the face. But as of right now, our relative anonymity as a club shields us from more severe persecution: swirlies, patriotic wedgies…" Kurt said.

"What's a patriotic wedgie?" Mercedes asked.

"It's when they hoist you up the flag pole by your undies", Finn explained.

"Strangely, it did make me feel more American", Artie said, which me feel bad for him. "Based on my investigation, I am of the opinion that a yearbook photo would only fuel the flames of anti-glee-club terror. I've done a little library research. Peter Gellar. Glee club second tenor, 1998. He can be seen here with both a drawn on Hitler mustache and rice paddy hat. Shortly after the yearbook came out, Mr. Gellar had a nervous breakdown. He is now the homeless man who sleeps in front of the public library", Kurt ranted.

"Again, what a wonderful monologue Shakespeare", I said bumping Kurt's hip with my own.

"Patches?" Quinn asked him.

"Patches", Kurt answered.

"He barks at my mom", Brittany said.

"Exhibit B: Tawny Peterson, glee club class of 2000, seen here in her photo with a cartoon knife stuck in her head, in a macabre tableau that, in four years would prove eerily prescient. I think I speak for all of us when I say that not having to pose for a yearbook photo might be a blessing in disguise. I suggest not fighting Figgins' ruling", Kurt said.

"Oh, hey, guys. Ah, looking at old Thunderclaps?" Mr. Schuester asked entering the room.

We all closed the yearbooks.

"It's really unsettling", Artie said.

"And totally unfair. Hey, can I borrow one of these?" Mr. Schuester asked taking a yearbook from Kurt, "You know what? This year's thunderclap is going to have a glee club photo with every one of your smiling faces. You have my word on it".

We all exchanged uneasy looks.

* * *

Mr. Schuester entered the room a few days later and said, "Hey, guys! Great news! Glee club gets a photo in the thunderclap".

We all faked enthusiasm.

"Yep. It's going to show everyone at the school that glee club is on its way up. When we win regionals, those claps are going to be collector's items. I mean, all of your classmates are going to be begging for your autographs. But, I had to compromise to do it. Um, we only get a quarter page in back. Which means we have to pick two team captains to appear in the photo. So, tomorrow we're going to put it to a vote! Exciting, huh? All right!" Mr. Schuester said.

* * *

The next day, we were forced to vote.

"Well, we're all here. I guess we should vote", Mercedes said.

Rachel stood up and said, "With your permission, I have prepared a few words".

"I nominate Rachel", Mercedes said.

"Second", Kurt added.

"All right, let's vote up in this piece. I gotta go hit the gym and load up the guns of Puckerone for the football picture", Puck said causing me to roll my eyes.

I'll never understand why I was attracted to him in the first place.

We all raised our hands and Mr. Schuester counted the votes.

"Looks like everybody voted for Rachel. Including Rachel. But, we need two captains, guys", Mr. Schuester said.

"Why two? We're fine with having Rachel represent us in the Thunderclap by herself", Quinn said.

"We'd actually prefer it", Kurt said.

* * *

Rachel picked Finn, but after getting teased by the guys on the football team, bailed.

"I'm going to regret this", I said as I entered the choir room.

Rachel stood up. "Madison?" she asked.

"Just don't", I said. I walked over to the stool. "I'm doing this for the club, not you. I don't even really like you", I told her. I sat down like a proper lady and smiled for the camera.

The guy snapped a photo.

Rachel stood up and said, "Wait, wait, wait, wait. That-that's it? I practiced over 18 different poses for this shoot, and I haven't even shown you any of my over the left shoulder pose. See?" She demonstrated for him.

"Sorry, kid, I got to blow. I got a casting session in half an hour", the guy said.

"A casting session for what?" Rachel asked.

"My brother-in-law is shooting a commercial for his store. I'm directing it. I just do these school photos for the money", the guy said.

"Uh, uh, okay", Rachel said starting to cry.

I looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"Wait, no, don't…I can take a couple more pictures for you", the guy said, clearly not good with crying girls.

Rachel suddenly stopped crying and said, "I can cry on demand. It's one of my many talents. I'm very versatile, and aside from nudity and the exploitation of animals, I'll pretty much do anything to break into the business".

"We-well, you certainly seem talented and all, but I need… There are other speaking parts in this thing. I need, like, a bunch of other actors, too", the guy said.

"I can help with that", Rachel said smiling.

'This cannot end well', I thought.

* * *

We managed to round everyone up.

"What's going on?" Joey asked me.

"Just sit down", I told him.

"I'd like to call this meeting to order", Rachel said getting ready to shut the door.

Finn entered the room at the last minute.

"Oh, hello, Finn. How nice of you to show", Rachel snapped.

"Look, I'm sorry. The guys were harassing me in the locker room about it. They said that if I took the glee club photo, that they'd make me choose between a Hitler mustache or buck teeth, and I can't rock either of those looks", Finn said sitting down. He turned to Quinn and asked, "Do you think I have a potato head?"

"Okay, look, I realize now that all of you think that glee club is just a joke. Okay and you're convinced that we can't win, and you're content to just sit idle by until Figgins cancels the club. Well, I'm about to present to you a rare opportunity. The opportunity to become stars", Rachel said.

"How?" Quinn asked.

"We've all been cast in a local commercial", Rachel said.

"Are you serious?" Finn asked.

"Yes, Finn, and while all of you have been so concerned with your appearance in this school, I've landed glee club its first big break. Simply put, making us all celebrities. Okay and no one messes with celebrities or defaces their pictures", Rachel said.

"What's the commercial?" Tina asked.

"Hold on to your hats and get ready to sell…Some mattresses!" Rachel said.

"I'm getting a nice pair of black suspenders. Simple black", Artie said, causing me to smile.

* * *

"I don't understand why I have to be here. I barely care about Glee club", I said.

"Just think about what we could be doing on those mattresses", Joey said causing me to blush bright red.

The owner and the photographer walked up.

"Okay, guys, we're very excited to have you here. We here at mattress land believe that mattresses aren't just for sleeping and fornicating anymore. We believe that buying an affordable mattress should be fun", the owner said.

"All right, let's go over the script. I think it's pretty brilliant. I wrote it myself. Action!" the photographer said.

""Ah, me"" Finn read.

""What's wrong?"" Mercedes asked.

""We just lost our jobs… at the factory, and we can't get a good night's sleep."" Puck read.

""Chipper up! Come on down to mattress land. We've got near-wholesale prices to fit your style and pocketbook!"" Rachel said, "I-I'm sorry. Mr. Cusperberg, this script is brilliant, but we're a glee club, and we should perform".

"Perform the lines as I wrote them", the photographer said.

"Wait a minute, Dennis. What did you have in mind?" the owner asked.

We ended up performing "Jump" by Van Halen.

Halfway through the number, I suddenly had an idea. I ran and went into 3 or 4 back flips.

"Come on down to mattress land!" the owner said.

"Come on down to mattress land!" we repeated.

* * *

Apparently, accepting mattresses disqualified us from sectionals, so Mr. Schuester took the bullet for us.

"But, we don't want to go to sectionals without you", Artie told him.

"It's without me or not at all. Look, I was the one who slept on the mattress, which means I accepted them, not you. Which means I'm disqualified from competition, not you guys", Mr. Schuester said.

"He's taking the bullet for us. Solid", Puck said and I nodded.

"We have worked too hard for you guys not to get your shot", Mr. Schuester said.

"We can't do this without you, Mr. Shue. Hell, we probably can't do it with you", Finn said.

"That's not true. You guys are good. You're really good. You did "Jump" for that commercial without me, right? Look, the best teachers don't give you the answers. They just point the way and let you make your own choices. Your own mistakes. That way you get all the glory. And you deserve it. Look, if… If you can't win without me there, then I haven't done my job", Mr. Schuester said.

"We're really sorry, Mr. Shue", Rachel said.

"I know. I want you guys to go get gussied up and take that glee club photo with pride. I want to see a smile on every one of your faces", Mr. Schuester said.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

* * *

"I bet we get stuck with Mr. Sinacori as our sectionals advisor", Artie said.

"Oh, the creepy math teacher?" Tina asked.

"He's always singing when he walks down the halls", Kurt said.

"No", Mercedes said hesitantly.

"I mean, he likes her. I mean, they're friends. We all know that", Artie said.

"Yeah, but it seemed like more than that. I've never told you guys this before, but I'm a little psychic. I can't read minds or anything yet, but I do have a sixth sense. Something is definitely going on there", Rachel said.

"Uh, we… We got to go", Mercedes said.

"We have to practice", Rachel said.

"Oh, and we will, as soon as Mr. Schuester names a faculty advisor to replace him", Kurt said.

"There's nothing to be scared of. I mean, it… It's not like Carrie or anything", Rachel said.

As we all walked down the hallway, I got roped into a party line.

"Dudes, this is serious. If she finds out, she's going to tell Finn. She's a total trout mouth", Artie said.

"Kurt wants in", Tina said.

"I say we lock Rachel up until after sectionals. I volunteer my basement", Kurt said.

"Uh, hell no Kurt. I live down there too. I'm not living with that spoiled brat", I said.

"Madison's right. We can't. We need her to sing", Mercedes said.

"Damn her talent", Kurt said, "Why can't you just sing?"

"Because you know why Kurt. I nearly pass out every time", I told him.

"We just heard. Who told?" Santana asked.

"We assumed it was you", Artie said.

"Why would I do that?" Santana asked.

"To get back at Puck. Aren't you guys dating?" Kurt asked.

"Sex is not dating", Santana explained.

"If it were, Santana and I would be dating", Brittany said.

"Look, I don't want to rock the boat. Since Quinn got pregnant, I'm top dog around here", Santana said.

"Hold up. Rachel's walking by. She's gone. Look, I know I screwed up telling all you guys about Quinn and Puck, and I feel really terrible about it, but we cannot let Rachel figure this out. If she tells Finn, he's going to flip", Mercedes said.

"And then, we really have no chance at sectionals", Kurt said, "Maddie, just prepare yourself".

I hung up and met Joey at his locker. I grabbed him and kissed him.

"Umm…not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" he asked.

"If Rachel finds out that Quinn is pregnant with Puck's baby, she's probably not going to sing at sectionals, which means I'll be left to do it", I told him.

"And you will be amazing", he said kissing me.

"Okay. Okay. Stop", Kurt said.

Joey leaned down and kissed me one more time before leaving.

"We're needed in the choir room", Kurt said.

We all sat down.

A few minutes later, Mr. Schuester walked into the choir room with Mrs. Pillsbury.

"Hey, guys? Let's, uh… Let's gather 'round. Well… I have found my replacement. So, give it up for Ms. Pillsbury", Mr. Schuester said.

"She's the one they made me talk to when they found out I was keeping that bird in my locker", Brittany said.

"So, do you even know anything about music?" Santana asked.

"Well… What's important is that she cares about you guys every bit as much as I do. Now… I-I don't know what the future holds for me, and for us, but I know, Saturday, you're going to make me proud. You guys are going to be great. So… Good-bye for now", Mr. Schuester said.

"Wait. What about our set list?" Mercedes asked.

"I… I can't help you with that. You've got to figure that out for yourselves. All right, guys", Mr. Schuester said and left.

"Well, we have to do "Proud Mary" in wheelchairs. That's in", Artie said.

"And "Don't Stop Believing," for sure", Finn said.

"What about the ballad?" Tina asked.

"I would be thrilled to contribute a ballad from my repertoire", Rachel said.

"Okay, you know what, Miss Bossy Pants? Enough. I've worked just as hard as you, and I'm just as good as you. You know, you always end up stealing the spotlight", Mercedes said.

"I agree with Mercedes", I spoke up.

"Mercedes, do you honestly think you're as strong of a balladeer as I am?" Rachel asked, "Ballads are kind of my thing".

"Okay, um, Rachel? Why don't you let Mercedes give it a try?" Miss Pillsbury asked.

"Thanks, Mrs. P", Mercedes said.

"Okay. Rachel", Miss Pillsbury said.

"Do I even need to tell you what song? Horns, strings, keep up", Mercedes said. Mercedes performed, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".

"Thoughts?" Mercedes asked Rachel.

Rachel went up to talk to her and hugged her.

We took a break after Mercedes' solo.

She came over to me and said, "Thanks for that…with Rachel", she said.

"It was nothing", I said.

"I know that look. You want a solo", she said.

"No I don't", I said, my cheeks burning, "I wouldn't be able to do it anyway".

Mercedes was cut off by Finn walking back into the choir room and yelling, "The baby's yours!"

He started punching Puck.

Mr. Schuester ran into the choir room, after Miss Pillsbury went and got him. "Hey, come on, come on. Get off him! Knock it off! Get off! Get off! Hey", Mr. Schuester said breaking them apart.

Joey shoved me into Kurt's arms as he helped hold Finn back.

"Tell the truth!" Finn yelled struggling against the guys.

"Punk just walked in and sucker punched me", Puck said.

"Don't play dumb— you're too freaking dumb to play dumb!" Finn yelled.

"Come on!" Mr. Schuester yelled.

"Who told you this, Finn?" Quinn asked about to cry.

"Obviously, it was Rachel", Kurt said.

"What? I didn't do anything", Rachel said.

"Yeah, it was Rachel, but I want to hear it from you. I want to hear it from both of you", Finn said.

"Finn, just calm down", Mr. Schuester said.

"No! They're both lying to me!" Finn yelled, "Is it true? Just tell me— is it true?"

"Yes. Puck is the father", Quinn said.

"So, all… All that stuff in the hot tub… You just made that up?" Finn asked.

"You were stupid enough to buy it", Puck said.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey", Mr. Schuester said trying to defuse the situation.

"I am so sorry", Quinn said sobbing.

"Screw this. I'm done with you. I'm done with… I'm done with all of you!" Finn yelled. He kicked a chair and walked out.

"Looks like you may be our only hope", Kurt told me.

I shoved him off of me and grabbed my stuff.

"Where are you going?!" Kurt yelled.

"To see my parents", I said softly.

Kurt came by later and sat next to me.

I turned to him and said, "I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna win us Sectionals".

"There's the old Madison", Kurt said, "I thought I'd never see her again".

* * *

When we arrived at Sectionals, we found out that we were going last.

"We're going last? Isn't that bad?" Tina asked.

"Hardly. This is good news. My extensive auditioning for community theater has taught me that we either want to go first or last. If we're first, then everyone has to measure up to us, and if we're last, then we're freshest in the judges' minds", Rachel said. "And did you ever get any of those parts?" Kurt asked.

"I'm with Rachel on this. The glass is definitely half full of some very good things right now", Miss Pillsbury said.

"Yeah, Ms. Pillsbury's right. I mean, we're here now, right? No reason not to go in with some positive mojo", Mercedes said.

To make matters worse, the choirs were performing all our songs.

"You leaked the set list; you don't want to be here. You were just Sue Sylvester's little moles", Kurt said.

"I know for a fact that's true. Sue asked us to spy for her", Quinn said.

"Look, we may still be Cheerios, but neither of us ever gave Sue the set list", Santana said.

"Well… I-I did, but I didn't know what she was going to do with it", Brittany said.

"Okay, look, believe what you want, but no one's forcing me to be here. And if you ever tell anyone this I'll deny it, but I like being in glee club. It's the best part of my day, okay? I wasn't going to go and mess it up", Santana said.

"I believe you. Okay, look, guys, there's no point in us arguing anymore. We-we have go on in an hour", Rachel said.

"And we have no songs", Tina said.

"Perhaps I could improvise some of my def poetry jams", Artie said.

"No. Look, we're going to do this the right way. Let's start with the ballad. Mercedes, do you have anything else in your repertoire?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, but it's not as good as anything you're going to sing", Mercedes said.

"No, we, we agreed…" Rachel said.

"We agreed that I would sing "And I'm Telling You," and that ain't happening. Look, Rachel, the truth is you're the best singer that we've got", Mercedes said.

"Joey…Madison…" Rachel said.

I gave her an uneasy look.

"As much as it hurts me to admit it, and it does, she's right. Rachel's our star. If anyone is going to go belt it on the fly, it should be her", Kurt said, "I mean…Madison could too".

"I don't have anything", I told him.

"Yeah…we do", Joey said taking my hand.

"Well, I do have something that I've been working on since I was four", Rachel said.

"Then I guess we have our ballad, and we can close with "Somebody to Love." It's a real crowd-pleaser", Quinn said.

"Yeah, that and a can of soup will guarantee us third place. We still need another song we can all sing together", Puck said.

We were shocked when Finn entered the room.

"I have one. I found the sheet music online. I used the Cheerios' copier to make copies and then I trashed the thing. Mike, Matt, Brittany, Santana, Madison, Joey, you're our best dancers. Figure something out and we'll all follow your lead", Finn said.

"It's going to be choppy", Mike said.

"Good. We're best when we're loose. Look, all we have going for us is that we believe in ourselves and what we're singing about. If we can show the judges that…We might have a shot at this thing", Finn said.

"It's good to have you back, Finn", Rachel said.

"You cool if I take my spot back?" Finn asked Joey.

"Yeah. I'm not really leading man material anyway", Joey said.

"We cool, dude?" Puck asked.

"No", Finn said.

"Finn…" Quinn said.

"You okay?" Rachel asked Finn.

"Don't worry about me. Okay, this is all up to you now. You wanted the solo; you wanted the chance to be the star. This is your chance. Don't screw it up", Finn said.

* * *

We started with Rachel singing, "Don't rain on my parade" by Barbra Streisand.

At the very end, we all walked up on stage.

The second song we did was "You can't always get what you want" by The Rolling Stones.

I was actually thankful that I didn't have to perform something. I just wasn't ready for that.

We stood outside of the judge's room.

"It doesn't sound good, guys", Artie said.

Mrs Hitchens walked up to us. "Hey, um… I just wanted to say how great you all were, and I thought you were amazing", she said.

"We have nothing to say to you", Rachel said.

"Because we cheated, I know. I feel terrible about it, but I'm going to tell the judges right now that we don't deserve to win", Mrs. Hitchens said.

* * *

Do I even need to tell you that we advanced?

Didn't think so.

Mr. Schuester came into the choir room on Monday.

"Well, we have a few things we'd like to show you, Mr. Shue. The first…" Finn said giving Mr. Schuester the trophy as we all celebrated.

"I am so proud of you guys. You won fair and square. The result was unanimous, and the judges didn't even know about all the shenanigans that were going on behind the scenes. So… Congratulations. You earned this. Give it up! Come on! All right! But, now we have regionals to worry about. And you can bet that Vocal Adrenaline is hard at work, so we should be, too. So, let's get started", Mr. Schuester said.

"Uh, wait, Mr. Shue. There's one more thing", Puck said.

"Since you weren't able to be there to see us perform, we put together a special number just for you. Take a seat!" Rachel said.

He did and we performed, "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson.

My mind was on my brother the whole time and I could tell that Joey knew it.

When the song was over, I ran to hug Joey.

He pushed me off him and stormed from the classroom.

"Joey!" I yelled.

Everyone looked at me.

Kurt came over to me and said, "He's not the right one for you anyway sis".

I turned to him and said, "I wanna sing again. Like I used to". I grabbed Mercedes and said, "I want you guys to help me".

The two smiled and shared a look.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**I do not own Glee in any way.**

* * *

I arrived at school, just in time to see Kurt get slushied once again, along with Mercedes and Rachel. I walked up to them and said, "Let's get you guys cleaned up". I led them into the girls' bathroom and helped wash their hair and eyes out.

"Why are you doing this?" Rachel asked me as she dried her face.

I blushed and struggled to get words out.

"Because, believe it or not, underneath everything, Madison can be quite sweet", Kurt said, "She's the mothering type. She just won't admit it".

"And I know what it feels like now and you guys helped me", I told him.

"Thanks", Rachel said and actually hugged me.

* * *

After they were all cleaned up, we went to the choir room.

Mr. Schuester wrote the word "Hello" on the board with a stick person.

"Hello", Mr. Schuester said.

We didn't say anything.

"Helloooo?" Mr. Schuester said again.

We all said hello without any enthusiasm.

"What do you guys say when you answer the phone?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"What up?" Mercedes said.

"Who dis be?" Artie said.

"No, she's dead, this is her son", Kurt said with a distant look.

"O-kay. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, liked to say, "ahoy, ahoy" when he answered the phone. It was Edison who decided that "hello" was a more appropriate greeting", Mr. Schuester said, "Look. I am really proud of what you guys did at sectionals. But, as most of you have realized by now, it hasn't made a bit of difference in your day-to-day at school".

"I have a slushie-stained training bra to prove it", Rachel said.

"Fact is, we're going to have to be better, even more spectacular at regionals. It's time for some reinvention, some new, New Directions. We need a new … hello. Here's your assignment for the week: Come up with a fresh number, but it has to have "hello" in the song title. Alright?" Mr. Schuester said.

As I was leaving the classroom, I ran into Joey.

"Madison", he said.

"Don't", I snapped.

Kurt came up and looped his elbow with mine. He glared at Joey at we passed. "So I've got an idea", he said.

"And what was that?" I asked him.

"Your song", he said, "You should totally do "Hello Seattle" by Owl City".

"And why would I sing that song?" I teased.

"You know why", he said, "Also, Mercedes and I reserved the auditorium for this afternoon".

I froze.

"You okay?" he asked.

I simply nodded.

"You can do this Maddie", he said.

We stopped at my classroom.

He hugged me and kissed my forehead before leaving.

* * *

I made my way into the auditorium that afternoon.

Mercedes and Kurt were waiting in the front row.

I plugged in my iPod into my portable iHome and stepped up to the mic. I had chosen, "Underneath" by Adam Lambert.

Strip away the flesh and bone  
Look beyond the lies you've known  
Everybody wants to talk about a freak  
No one wants to dig that deep  
Let me take you underneath

Baby, better watch your step  
Never mind what's on the left  
You're gonna see things you might not wanna see  
It's still not that easy for me underneath

A red river of screams  
Underneath  
Tears in my eyes  
Underneath  
Stars in my black and blue sky  
And underneath  
Under my skin  
Underneath, the depths of my sin  
Look at me  
Now do you see?

Welcome to my world of truth  
I don't wanna hide any part of me from you  
I'm standing here with no apologies  
Such a beautiful release  
You inside of me

A red river of screams  
Underneath  
Tears in my eyes  
Underneath  
Stars in my black and blue sky  
And underneath  
Under my skin  
Underneath, the depths of my sin  
Look at me  
Now do you see?  
Underneath, underneath, underneath...  
Underneath, Underneath

Welcome to my world of truth

A red river of screams  
Underneath  
Tears in my eyes  
Underneath  
Stars in my black and blue sky  
And underneath  
Under my skin  
Underneath, the depths of my sin  
Look at me  
Now do you see?  
Underneath, underneath, underneath  
Look at me  
Do you see?  
Yeah yeah yeah yeah!

Look at me  
Do you see?

Welcome to my world of truth  
I don't wanna hide any part of me from you

* * *

When the song was over, I stepped back from the mic.

Kurt stepped up to the stage and said, "How do you feel?"

"Good", I told him.

Kurt and Mercedes came up on stage and we sat in a circle.

"I think it's because you bottle your feelings in too much. That's not healthy", Mercedes said.

"Mercedes is right. You need to sing your feelings out more", Kurt said, "When we were younger…your mother always said that someone upstairs had big plans for you. Maybe she was right Maddie. Being able to sing is a gift. You should use it more often".

I let out a soft sob when he mentioned my mother.

Kurt gathered me in his arms and let me cry.

* * *

The next day, I was shocked when Joey entered the room and sat down over next to Artie.

Mr. Schuester entered the room and said, "Alright, guys, we gotta get moving on those "hello" numbers. Who has got something to show us? Volunteers?"

Rachel raised her hand and said, "Mr. Schuester, I think I've found a song that sums up my feelings perfectly".

"Fantastic, Rachel. Show us what you got", Mr. Schuester said.

Rachel walked to the front of the choir room and performed "Gives you Hell" by The All-American Rejects.

"Guys, I don't want to be a buzz kill but the assignment was "hello"", Mr. Schuester said.

"I'm sorry, I was just focusing on the *first* syllable", Rachel said looking at Finn.

"You know what? I don't think you guys understand the seriousness of what we're up against. While we were busy winning our sectional, Vocal Adrenaline was busy winning theirs. They're last year's national champions. They haven't lost a competition in three years. This is the big leagues, guys. If we don't place at regionals, Glee Club is over", Mr. Schuester said.

* * *

A few days later, we all found out that Rachel was dating Jessie St. James from Vocal Adrenaline.

Everyone ambushed her in the choir room.

I was there, but I didn't really care who she was dating.

"Hey, guys", Rachel said.

"Cut the butter, Benedict Arnold. We heard about your new boyfriend", Kurt said.

"Look, Rachel, we're all happy that you're happy, but we've worked too hard in Glee Club to let you throw it all away on a relationship that might not even be real", Mercedes told her.

"Why? Cause he's in Vocal Adrenaline?" Rachel asked.

"Their motto is "_aut neca aut necatus eris,_" which loosely translates to "murder or be murdered", Kurt explained.

"They give their dancers human growth hormone", Tina said.

"Look, we're not saying the dude is playing you…" Mercedes started to say.

"He's playing you", Kurt said bluntly.

"We just think that until regionals are over, we can't risk the possibility that he is", Mercedes told her.

"None of us wanna go through what happened at sectionals again", Tina said.

"Okay, look. Jesse and I might not be true love, but what if we are? I know who I am. And how many chances at this am I gonna get?" Rachel asked.

Kurt and Mercedes looked at each other. "If you don't break up with him, you're out", Kurt said.

"But you can't kick me out!" Rachel said.

"I hate to agree with her, but that's true", I piped in.

"But we can all quit if Mr. Schue doesn't", Artie said.

"Well, good luck winning without me", Rachel threatened.

"Everyone is replaceable. Even you", Kurt said, "You've heard Madison sing. She's just as good as you".

"How could you do this to me?" Rachel asked.

"How could you do this to us? We're a team, and all you've ever wanted was for us to be great, and be a part of something special. Now, is that still true or not?" Mercedes asked.

Rachel just looked at us.

* * *

The last song of the week we performed together was, "Hello Goodbye" by The Beatles.

Of course, my eyes were on Joey the whole time we were performing and dancing.

When we were done, I spoke up.

"Mr. Schue, I'd really like to perform my "Hello" song", I told him.

"Okay", he said, "Go for it".

They all sat down.

I stepped up to the mic and said, "Only Kurt knows this about me, but I was born in Seattle. I haven't been back there since I moved here and this is dedicated to my birth city". I had chosen "Hello Seattle" by Owl City like Kurt suggested. I let myself go and put on a show for them. When I was done, everyone stood up and clapped. All I could do was smile as I was attacked by hugs.


End file.
